A new, ‘hyper-connected’ era will bring a wealth of benefits in the next five years, says Brussels-based Smart Security industry body Eurosmart - but it will also pose security and privacy challenges to which the industry can rise.
According to its Vision 2020 report, there is no sign of the strong demand for smart devices and cards slowing in 2015. Global shipments of Smart Secure micro-controller devices are set to continue growing at around 10% every year, while eight billion units will be shipped, with SIM cards comprising around two thirds of the total. Smart payment card shipments have already reached almost two billion units this year, including 500 million in China and 150 million in the US. Meanwhile, the rapid adoption of highly secure but easy-to-use mobile payments is set to be boosted further still by the arrival of Apple Pay.
Hyper-connected by 2020
The report predicts that in the hyper-connected world:
- Most state-issued identity documents and passports will be electronic or chip- secured, speeding secure international travel and border crossing
- Fraud problems caused by weak username and password protection will be history thanks to smart, strong and convenient authentication solutions
- Individuals will have multiple identities but the most secure, assured digital identities will be issued after face-to-face registration by a certified identity provider
- Multiple devices and channels will offer great social and economic benefits to those who have difficulty accessing bank accounts
- Domestic electronic devices will be connected and remotely controlled; cars will be connected; and doctors will monitor patients’ wellness remotely, anticipating health issues and concerns.
The report also suggests that owning tens of smart objects will be commonplace, making security and privacy essential. This means innovative mobile payments must be secure and malware-free. Strong but easy-to-use authentication solutions such as Secure Elements and Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) will create the trust needed to make this all work - particularly in the fast-emerging smartphone category, says Eurosmart president Oyvind Rastad. “The demand for convenience and security in devices will be strong and it has been boosted lately by Apple’s adoption of embodied secure elements, which will serve as a catalyst for the adoption of secure elements in mobile devices,” he explains.
Securing our connected objects
There will be strong growth for next year with 300 million secure elements inside smartphones being shipped into the market, Rastad goes on. “The technology is the most secure you can get and it can also be very convenient to use,” Rastad adds. “Now that Apple have shown it is possible to fit secure elements and standard NFC and to make it convenient everyone is jumping on the bandwagon to include secure elements and push for secure NFC mobile payments.” The infrastructure is in place, Rastad insists - now it is a question of the economics and the business terms being agreed. “Getting multi-national organisations and banks to agree on the business model has not been easy so far,” he says. “The actors need to get together and agree a fair share of the revenues around these services. Hyper connectivity is snowballing and we must just make certain that security issues do not set it back. Our industry has what it takes to make it secure because it already works with all the established players. It is a position we would like to develop as a trust broker.”
2020 by numbers
- Smartphones will account for two thirds of global mobile connections
- More than 50% of transactions will be made by mobile devices
- Over 1.2bn mobile phones sold in 2018 will include NFC
- Cellular M2M will account for almost 1bn of 10bn mobile connections
- 90% of cars will be connected
- Around 250m eID cards will be in use in the EU alone
Stand: 3C 036
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