Securing connected devices: public awareness campaign

The most effective shield to protect oneself from possible cyberattacks is nothing but the adoption of the right behavior. The secure-iot.lu platform is set to be the tool that provides guidelines to secure the use of connected objects.

“The digital transformation is accelerating, but can only succeed if people and businesses can trust that the connected products and services - on which they rely – are secure.” – Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President of the European commission for a Europe Fit for the Digital Age

End-users are not well aware of the risks involved in the ever-growing use of connected devices

“Nowadays, over 35 billion of devices are connected to the Internet worldwide. According to projections, this figure will double by 2025, thanks to the 5G mobile networks that offers a wider available spectrum as well as a higher global bandwidth and allows a massive number of IoT devices to connect to the Internet”, Thorsten Ries, Head of CyberDefense at POST Luxembourg, explains.

The scope of the connected devices’ features remains little understood by end-users. However, their growing use, without implementing the relevant security measures, increases the possibilities of security breaches, which provide cybercriminals with the same number of possibilities of intrusions. “As a telecommunications services provider and ICT integrator, POST has a real-time 360° capacity monitoring that is sufficient to quickly activate protection measures in case of suspicious activity. The fight against these fraudulent practices is not limited to the informatic environment, but involves the end-users as well, both individuals and professionals. With this campaign, we aim to spread good practices so that users are able to avoid a large number of potential risks”, Thorsten Ries adds.

Indeed, the related risks, such as information leak, diversion, mass surveillance or tracking, can compromise the data privacy, integrity and availability of both private or public players as well as harm the privacy integrity of individuals. The large amounts of data processed and stored in the Cloud are a direct target for some criminals.

“The SIGI’s member communes work with citizens’ data on a daily basis. For SIGI, it is essential to actively take part in this awareness campaign in order to inform our members about the potential risks related to connected devices”, Yves Wengler, Président du SIGI, says.

The best way to protect oneself is to be aware: discover a platform that provides a wide range of information and good practices

“Raising awareness among the general public is essential to set the good habits and responses towards those threats”, Fabien Mathey, Head of CASES Luxembourg states.

With a view to encouraging good habits and raising awareness amongst professionals and individuals, CASES and ANSSI, in partnership with SIGI, POST Luxembourg and the Representation of the European Commission in Luxembourg, are launching a dedicated online platform: secure-iot.lu. The aim of such a tool is to highlight the implications of the use of connected devices as well as provide a range of tips and tricks to avoid the related risks. A mass media campaign will further support this launch from 15 March to 15 April 2021.

Divided into categories of connected devices, the platform identifies and details the main risks as well as releases a series of best practices to avoid them. This set of information is applicable to both general public and professionals from all sectors.

To go further and step-up awareness-raising efforts, the platform provides communication materials to companies and their employees, institutions, professors, teachers and students as well as citizens. The platform’s users can download engaging posters with evocative slogans as well as documents gathering good practices that they can share to help raise awareness amongst their communities.

“Connected devices, equipment devices, sensors and networks included, which constitute the Internet of Things, and especially the assurance of their security, will play a key role in the construction of our digital future. The elaboration of recommendations and good practices for the security of connected devices has been an objective of the National Cybersecurity Strategy III. I would like to congratulate all partners involved in this awareness building initiative and I kindly invite all users of IoT devices & services to regularly consult the new Web site secure-iot.lu”, Luc Feller, Haut-Commissaire à la protection nationale concludes