European Union security agency ENISA has decided to broaden the scope of its work in 2016 with an extended focus on mobile health (mHealth) and the Internet of Things (IoT).
The European Union Agency for Network and Information Security, to give it its full name, revealed the news in an announcement on Monday detailing its new Work Programme for next year.
It explained the following:
“ENISA will continue its work on established priorities such as the pan-European cyber security exercises, critical information infrastructure protection (CIIP), support for implementation of Security & Data Breach notification obligations, the EU Cybersecurity Month and the work that ENISA has done in supporting the CERT community, while broadening its scope in areas including, smart cars, smart airports and smart hospitals, with new studies in mHealth and security of IoT.”
The agency was at pains to point out the economic purpose behind its existence, claiming that it can help to bolster an EU cybersecurity market worth over €20bn, and growing at 6% CAGR, as well as helping to protect an estimated €640bn from hackers.
Executive director, Udo Helmbrecht, claimed in a statement that he has been pleased with ENISA’s performance up to now.
“The Management Board adopted a challenging work programme for 2016, given the limited resources of the Agency and the rapidly evolving cyber landscape. Member States recognise the importance of key initiatives by ENISA,” he added.
“The agency is in the unique position to support the DSM [Digital Single Market] initiative by providing the solutions and knowledge for investment and deployment of electronic services in the EU internal market, supporting the economic benefits of Europe from the cyber market creating value from effective security.”
ENISA is wise to widen its scope to include the Internet of Things and the industry around smart “things” given its rapid growth.
Gartner is predicting the volume of connected things in the world will reach 25 billion by 2020.
However, security researchers have already found potentially life-threatening security flaws in many of these smart devices.
Drug infusion pumps which can be hacked and medication doses altered; connected cars which can be remotely controlled; and even the subversion of in-flight navigation systems, are just some of the issues uncovered by the white hats of late.