Data Security Will be Key to Industrial IoT
Dr Orna Berry, EMC's corporate VP of Innovation spoke to SiliconRepublic in a recent interview. In the interview she highlights the hurdles that must be overcome for industrial IoT to be successful with Cork is being used as a test bed. Dr. Berry mentions data clarity and private information security as challenges to overcome.
Security and clarity of the data and content being gathered from M2M devices and sensors will be critical, says EMC’s VP in charge of innovation, Dr Orna Berry.

Last month, EMC and Vodafone revealed they had jointly invested €2m in a new INFINITE internet of things (IoT) industrial platform that will traverse Cork, and which will provide facilities for the testing and exploration of technologies like machine-to-machine (M2M) communications.

The IoT Innovation platform is spread across three data centres in Cork: EMC, Vodafone, and data centre and cloud provider Cork Internet eXchange (CIX).

Businesses will be able to use the platform to test solutions for the internet of things, in manufacturing, fleet management, machinery, household appliances, and even clothing that contains sensors and that can communicate with other machines (or things).

Cork is at the heart of the industrial internet of things

The industrial internet of things is fast becoming a reality, says EMC’s corporate vice president of innovation and general manager of EMC Israel, Dr Orna Berry. She also heads up EMC Centres of Excellences (CoE) and R&D Centres and is the general manager of EMC’s Israel CoE.

Berry said that one of the first tasks of the test bed for industries is to ensure clarity and security of the data being gathered and for what purpose.

“First of all the internet of things is already here because you have a lot of sensory information that is interconnected and after you add a lot of M2M data a lot is being generated.

“One of the interesting things, the data, the cloud, the security and trust in the data that is in the cloud and the internet of things is about content awareness. You collect a lot of data and what is important is that you are aware of what you are collecting.

“A lot has been said about events that could have been anticipated because the data was there, but the data was not cleaned out to be a prime objective, it was mixed with a lot of other data.”

She said without clarity of purpose or proper security and reporting rules the internet of things will be lost.

“Be it in the prevention of a heart attack, failure of a jet engine or a collision on the road — each one of those things is an internet of things matter.

“If you have relevant data with relevant modelling are not using all the modelling that is an issue. The more practical use you make of your data the better you are. But also misuse for fraud, crime or destruction of critical infrastructure is a risk.

“You need to master, automate and manage the experience and connectivity of different devices,” she said.

“The testbed is not only about making content awareness and usability but also about putting risk and compliance to protect the data so it can’t be reverse engineered to get to private information.”