Intelligent Tech Channels Issue 15 | Page 10

NEWS Booz Allen Hamilton IoT Field Guide recommended for regional CSOs Dr Raymond Khoury, Executive Vice President and Digital Practice Lead at Booz Allen Hamilton, MENA. The Internet of Things IoT continues to gain a strong footing in the GCC across different sectors ranging from manufacturing and transportation to energy. The vulnerability of IoT to external cyber threats remains high – in fact even higher than traditional IT – a Booz Allen Hamilton report released in 2017, has highlighted. The Booz Allen Hamilton IoT Field Guide also states that industries are moving to IoT at a pace that is far greater than the ability to secure it. Traditional IT systems are generally self-contained and easy to protect. IoT, on the other hand, connects systems with tens of thousands of sensors Danny Karam, Vice President and Digital Life Platform Lead at Booz Allen Hamilton MENA. and other devices around the world, resulting in a much higher variety and volume of potential threat. Companies can probably save money by building IoT systems with less-than- secure parts and materials. But if they get hacked, the financial cost of reputational harm – including lawsuits, or regulatory penalties – could make it much worse for them. If organisations are to succeed with IoT, security has to be deeply embedded in their DNA. This involves a close, careful, and systematic examination of all potential weak points. Booz Allen Hamilton has identified that organisations with the best IoT security are proactive; they use real-time threat-assessment data and the latest advances in analytics to spot hidden IoT attacks. The IoT Field Guide includes a Resource Prioritisation Model that can help organisations mitigate and contain any risks. The model contains three elements: the technical risk assessment, the potential impact of an attack on the business and mitigation strategies. The comprehensive model ultimately empowers an organisation’s leaders and stakeholders to make effective IoT security investment decisions. Etisalat Digital partners with Cars Taxi to implement automotive surveillance solutions Etisalat Digital announced its partnership with Cars Taxi to implement smart surveillance solutions and analytics across its fleet of 2,180 taxis in Dubai enabling them to manage and conduct real- time monitoring of all the taxis bringing in efficiency and improving customer experience and safety. This end-to-end automotive surveillance solution is implemented in compliance with RTA’s Road and Transport Authority directive to deploy CCTV cameras in taxis in order to enhance customer safety. In addition to Etisalat’s M2M connectivity, the solution makes use of Etisalat Digital’s state-of-the-art Internet of Things platforms and supported by latest IOT Command Center. Salvador Anglada, Chief Business Officer, Etisalat said: “We are proud to be associated with Cars Taxi on this prestigious project as one of the key initiatives that contributes to digitising the public transport industry. I would like to congratulate RTA for such initiatives that will enhance customer experience, improve safety 10 and provide operational visibility in the management of the public transport system. This is just the beginning of this relationship as we plan to further strengthen our automotive portfolio to enable digital transformation of the public transportation industry.” The solution makes use of Etisalat Digital’s Internet of Things platform and supported by latest IOT Command Center. Issue 15 INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS