• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, January 12, 2017

The 2017 predictions for the Internet of Things keep coming, with one of the latest dealing with what’s in store for security.

Any regular reader of the IoT Daily knows that security and privacy are continuously major IoT issues, especially as more devices enter consumer homes and become Internet-connected.

In the not-so-good-news department, the new report, from cybersecurity company Trend Micro, sees 2017 coming with an increased breadth and depth of attacks.

The Internet of Things will play a larger role in targeted attacks in 2017, capitalizing on the growing acceptance of connected devices by exploiting unsecured systems, according to the report. Here are some of the security-related predictions for next year:

• The number of new ransomware families will plateau, only growing 25%, but will branch out into IoT devices and non-desktop computing terminals, like point-of-sale systems or ATMs
• Suppliers will not secure IoT devices in time to prevent denial of service and other attacks
• New vulnerabilities will continue to be discovered in Apple and Adobe

• With 46% of the world’s population now connected to the Internet, the rise in cyber-propaganda will continue
• New targeted attack methods will focus on evading modern detection techniques to allow targeting of different organizations

As the world becomes more connected through billions of new smart devices, security issues are likely to increase.

In the Internet attack earlier this year, which caused millions of consumers to be locked out of many Web sites, connected devices like smart doorbells and webcams were compromised.

Trend Micro predicts more of the same for next year.

Any brands and marketers planning to message through or leverage consumer connected consumer devices may want to make sure that security is high on the list.

This column was previously published in Connected Thinking on December 22, 2016.