IBM expands security cover with IoT, automobile testing services

Rising cyber threats unlock new avenues for enterprise security giant in India

IBM's Security arm recently launched its security testing services for Internet of Things (IoT) and automobiles, which will be bundled with their X-Force Red and Watson IoT offerings.

IBM Security reaches over 100 Indian customers like DHFL and BSE to mitigate cyber threat, by aiding clients in either setting up their own on-premises Security Operations Center (SOCs) or availing services and facilities from the IBM Security Command Centre in Bangalore.

"Our penetration testers were fascinated by automobiles and with Petya and Wannacry generating so much publicity it is just a matter of time before you turn on your car and you get a message that you have to pay so many bitcoins to unlock it," said Marc Zadelhoff, General Manager, IBM Security.
 

Security solutions provider Quickheal's latest report observed a 16 per cent hike in malware attacks in the quarter ended June 30. The report further said, targeted attacks by using fileless and memory-based malware are expected to increase in the coming days. IoT (Internet of Things) devices are expected to be targeted at a higher scale as it was evident in the case of Mirai and Persirai botnet attacks. Attackers are increasingly using Remote Desktop Services (RDS) feature to enter into targeted systems by acquiring weak login credentials, password stealer software and credential access techniques said the report.
 

IBM researchers have worked extensively with manufacturers and suppliers across Europe and the US to develop use cases that would help them tackle situations where devices were remotely hacked. While the research did not include Indian car manufacturers, Zadelhoff sees it as an unavoidably global requirement here. India was the third worst affected country when the WannaCry Ransomware attack crippled services in May this year.
 

"These are research projects that are customized to manufacturers because the devices themselves differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. We are leveraging an analytics platform used by 8000 clients across the world called QRadar," he added.

Qradar pulls information from various sources across the globe. The analytics engine further processes it. IBM's latest partnership with Cisco adds to the networking solution by reducing gaps in the data flow where it can be leaked.
 

"We (Xforce) have traps and censors across the internet to help capture data. We are using honeypots, forums on dark web and sensors across the world to pick information on security threats in cooperation with Cisco teams," added Zadelhoff. IBM revenues from security and analytics grew 5 per cent and 6 per cent respectively each in the June quarter compared to the year ago.
 

Zadelhoff said that business critical data within organisations is constantly being targeted and it can be overwhelming for those tasked with defending it. Whether it's healthcare data, sensitive employee information or corporate intellectual property, this data is valuable to criminals. "In India, having an Incident Response team saved an organisation an average of 1,077 INR per compromised record. In addition, following some of the security basics will also help organizations stay ahead of threats targeting their valuable information, “he added.
 

Kartik Shahani, Integrated Security Leader, IBM India/South Asia further observed," Security for regulatory compliance as in case of banking and finance see faster adoption of new technology as a business requirement. Manufacturing and pharma are adopting security mainly to protect IP and thus security is lacking over there. We don't know if the budgets will increase but awareness will certainly increase.”