Cyber-attack has emerged as an omega level threat especially to the sectors who are involved in robotic and automated equipments. Hackers who gain access to industrial networks and sensitive information can wreck havoc ranging, from changing production information to causing production errors and ultimately loss of personal and corporate data and information.
Robotics and automated solutions are becoming integral part of automotive, healthcare, manufacturing, and military. These are high value industries and require additional cybersecurity to protect high confidential data. Due to rise in number of cyber attacks, these industries are beginning to recognize how vulnerable their connected robots and automation equipment actually are, and looking to strengthen their security by investing in cybersecurity systems and services.
Through centralized operating systems, robotics has automated and merged various processes into one entity. Robots are prone to cyber attacks at application, firmware/OS, and hardware levels, and failure at any of these levels can lead to production delays, failure of system, and huge financial loss.
Thus there is an urgent need for cybersecurity systems like firewall security services, denial of service protection solutions, encryption solutions and authentication solutions across various end use industries. According to a recently published report by Future Market Insights, the cyber security in robotics market is expected to register 11.0% CAGR between 2022 and 2032 and reach a global value of US$ 7.5 Bn by 2032.
What is the need of cybersecurity in robot-automated processes
As automation progresses, robots are becoming common in various industries and are becoming susceptible to cyber attacks. Industrial robots are often affected by ransomware that prevent access to confidential data and cause the entire production system to crash. On the other hand, in the case of medical robots, man-in-the-middle attacks allow unauthorized entities to take control.
Personal and financial data, revenue, and human safety are often threatened by cyberattacks. For instance, a ransomware attack of 2021, resulted in the biggest ransomware attack on record. Several organizations were infected with ransomware after downloading a malicious update from Kaseya’s IT management software.
The cybercriminals sent victims a ransom note saying they could decrypt their files for $45,000 in cryptocurrency. At least 60 companies were directly affected by the attack, and at least 1,500 were affected downstream. One Swedish supermarket chain had to close its doors after the attack caused its payment processing equipment to malfunction. For such incidents, there is a growing need for the firewall security services.
Similarly, the new DeadBolt ransomware group allegedly began encrypting QNAP NAS devices worldwide in January 2022, exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in software solutions. Users of these devices suddenly find encrypted filenames with the “.deadbolt” extension. Rise in such ransomware attacks in past few years has accelerated the increased the demand for innovative cyber security management services to combat this challenge.
Threats to robotics in healthcare
Healthcare robots assist patients with maintenance and mobility. They also notify the emergency personnel whenever assistance is needed, distributes medicines as per the schedule, and frequently monitors health status and stores data.
There is a possibility that these robots can be attacked by cyber-criminals, resulting in the loss of sensitive data, medical records, or even financial records, and cause harm to the user. In order to protect healthcare robots, many start-ups and cyber security firms are investing in developing unique firewall security software.
For instance, Bitdefender BOX is an end-to-end security solution that can be plugged into your existing internet gateway/router or used as a standalone firewall appliance. There is 1 GB of DDR3 memory onboard as well as 4 GB of internal storage. Basically, it prevents malign traffic from wreaking too much havoc within the system.
Firewall cybersecurity solutions can prevent glitches from entering the robotic system. Modern security systems are using algorithms that filter out the traffic from the uplink that has already reached the client but hasn’t yet been accessed by the user. Thus with the increasing use of robots in home and hospital settings worldwide, the demand for the firewall security services will increase in upcoming years.
Proper Authentication solution and modern Testing measures will become mandatory for robots protection
Robot security testing services will become an integral part of robotic cyber security systems. Failure to perform penetration testing will make robots at risk of security breaches. Robotic solutions require testing to check the compatibility and coding issues that can affect the operation of applications. In robotic systems and devices, the use of new security measures without testing can lead to poor performance. As a result, many firewall service providers are deploying security testing measures before final robotics implementation.
In January 2022, identity verification service provider Veriff partnered with Starship Technologies, the developer of Tallinn-based small self-driving robot delivery vehicles. This partnership helps the former provide verification and certification services to the UK’s fleet of autonomous delivery robots for a fully autonomous end-to-end delivery service, especially for age-restricted items. Veriff will also provide additional firewall security systems to protect self-driving robots from hacking.
In addition to health care robots, manufacturing robots are expected to capture 26.9% of the cyber security in the robotics market in 2022. These robots are increasingly being used by product manufacturers to automate repetitive processes. Cyber-attacks can cause significant information loss and disrupt an industry’s operations when these robots come across cyber-attacks. Many industries and companies are deploying firewall devices in order to strengthen the security systems.
One of the biggest advantages of IT security cyber security solutions is that they provide comprehensive digital protection to your business. By doing this, you will be able to let your employees surf the internet whenever they want and ensure that they are not at risk of online threats. When viruses infect a computer, they can slow it down to a crawl and make working on it impossible.
It can be extremely time-consuming for your employees, resulting in a standstill in your entire business. But with the right cybersecurity solution, these hurdles can easily be overcome. With a cyber-security solution like Fortinet’s FortiGate firewall, for instance, you can stop this spyware from taking effect and maintain the privacy and confidentiality of your employees.
Steps towards combating cyber-thefts
With cybertheft on the rise, the authentication solution is likely to remain one of the leading and reliable solutions in the domain of robotics cyber security. Multi-factor authentication is increasingly used across various industries to prevent employee and employer credentials from being stolen.
As part of its efforts to expand into the IP market, CEVA, Inc. unveiled the new Fortrix SecureD2D IP solution in January 2022. As a result of this solution, data exchange between multiple chiplets within a Heterogeneous System on Chip (HSoC) would be more secure. Furthermore, it would allow chiplets to securely load firmware and authenticate with each other. As such products are introduced by cyber security management service providers; the risk for losing valuable data reduces to a large extent.
Countries are taking the cybersecurity issue quite seriously. European Union for instance is preparing a new ‘cyber resilience’ law for 2022, whereby a common cyber security standard for connected devices including will be introduced. However robotics is a new field and forming new cybersecurity laws won’t be enough to tackle looming cyber threats.
Training industrial engineers, cyber security architects, and programmers in dealing with security breach and cyber threats by using proper firewall and ransomware protection softwares will be crucial in dealing with imminent and growing cyber issues.
Through combining various cybersecurity and malware protection modules, we will be able to create a connected industry in which humans and robots can work together securely and safely.
About Author: Aditi Basu, Marketing Head at Future Market Insights
Aditi is the Marketing Head at Future Market Insights (FMI), an ESOMAR-certified market research and consulting Market Research Company. The award-winning firm is headquartered in Dubai, with offices in the US, UK, and India. MarketNgage is the Market Research Subscription Platform from FMI that assists stakeholders in obtaining in-depth research across industries, markets and niche segments. You can connect with Aditi on LinkedIn.
Future Market Insights (FMI), is an ESOMAR-certified market research and consulting market research company. FMI is a leading provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries; its market research reports and industry analysis help businesses navigate challenges and make critical decisions with confidence and clarity amidst breakneck competition. Now avail flexible Research Subscriptions, and access Research multi-format through downloadable databooks, infographics, charts, and interactive playbook for data visualization and full reports through MarketNgage, the unified market intelligence engine powered by Future Market Insights.
