How Does IoT Crime Classification Aid Investigators?

TL;DR

IoT crime classification helps investigators identify relevant evidence, collection methods, and applicable laws and regulations early in an investigation. Connected devices continuously generate valuable data about activities, locations, movement, and physical conditions, but insecure designs can expose that information to criminals, nation-state actors, or terrorists who may steal, monetize, or manipulate it.

Transcript

We're here today to talk about the Internet of Things and how that relates to the criminal world. I'm really excited about this panel today because these are three gentlemen that I've had the pleasure of working with extensively, but I also call them friends. So I think you're going to really enjoy hearing from them today. Uh, first I'll introduce ... Read More

Key Insights

• IoT adoption is expanding rapidly, with the panel citing growth from an estimated 12.5 billion connected devices in 2012 to 20 billion in 2018, followed by an estimated 30 billion devices by 2022.
• Lower sensor and transistor costs are accelerating IoT production because manufacturers can add connectivity to historically single-purpose equipment, including forklifts, containers, and trailers, while bringing new products to market more quickly and cheaply.
• Connected logistics equipment is capable of transmitting real-time information throughout the supply chain, enabling managers to track products from shelves to forklifts, containers, and trailers and use that information to improve operational speed and efficiency.
• IoT devices are constantly generating data about personal activity, feelings, thoughts, locations, and movement, creating potentially valuable evidence for investigators because the information is collected and stored in multiple places.
• Security and privacy are closely linked in IoT crime because attackers can compromise a vulnerable device, steal the information it produces, and monetize that information for illegal purposes, affecting both device security and individual privacy.
• Data integrity attacks are capable of disrupting physical operations because altered IoT information can cause a logistics manager or another decision-maker to act on false data, potentially harming an entire operational process.
• Fitness-device information can expose sensitive locations, as demonstrated by exercise data that outlined the perimeter of a United States military forward operating base when soldiers repeatedly ran around it.
• Market incentives were assessed as misaligned with cybersecurity in a May 2018 report from the Departments of Commerce and Homeland Security, with manufacturers, distributors, and vendors emphasizing cost and time to market without sufficient appreciation for device protection.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does IoT crime classification help investigators?

IoT crime classification helps structure the earliest stages of an investigation by directing attention to the type of crime, possible evidence sources, suitable collection methods, and relevant laws and regulations. This approach is important because connected devices generate and store information across different locations, while an incident may involve security breaches, privacy harms, stolen data, manipulated information, or several of these issues together.

Q: What evidence can IoT devices provide in criminal investigations?

IoT devices can provide continuously generated information about what people do, how they feel, what they think, where they go, and how quickly they travel. Investigators may use these records to understand behavior, movement, locations, and events. The panel describes this data as a potential goldmine, while emphasizing that it is pulled from devices and stored in different places.

Q: Why are IoT devices growing so rapidly?

IoT devices are proliferating partly because the cost of their transistors and sensors has fallen sharply. Lower component prices let manufacturers increase the speed of design and production while attaching connectivity to equipment that historically had only one purpose. The panel also expects wider cellular connectivity and the arrival of 5G to support devices requiring broad geographic coverage and large-scale deployment.

Q: What are the main security and privacy risks of IoT devices?

The main risks involve unauthorized access, information theft, illegal monetization, privacy loss, and manipulation of data integrity. According to the panel, cybercriminals targeting vulnerable devices may have the time, resources, and technical knowledge needed to compromise them. More sophisticated nation-state actors or terrorists may also use captured information to identify and target particular individuals, organizations, or sensitive locations.

Q: How can manipulated IoT data harm a business?

Manipulated IoT data can cause managers to make operational decisions using false information. In the panel's supply-chain example, connected forklifts, containers, and trailers provide real-time information to a logistics manager. If an attacker changes that information, the manager may act on an inaccurate picture of product movement, creating a negative impact across the entire process rather than merely exposing private data.

Q: How did fitness-device data reveal a military base?

Soldiers exercising at a military forward operating base ran around its perimeter to obtain sufficient distance for their workouts. Their fitness devices generated location information associated with those repeated routes. When that information was overlaid on a map, it outlined the base perimeter and exposed its specific location in a conflict area, allowing a remote observer to identify a sensitive facility.

Q: Why can IoT cybersecurity lag behind device innovation?

A May 2018 report prepared by the Departments of Commerce and Homeland Security assessed that market incentives were not aligned with cybersecurity for connected devices. The panel says manufacturers, distributors, and vendors tend to emphasize cost and speed to market. This focus can occur without adequate appreciation of what information devices collect, how that information is used, and how well it is protected.

Q: How are IoT devices used in supply-chain management?

Sensors can transform historically single-purpose equipment into connected sources of operational information. The panel describes products moving from a shelf by forklift, into a container, and then onto a trailer, with devices attached at each stage. These devices relay real-time information to a logistics manager, helping the organization increase speed, improve efficiency, and obtain better visibility across its supply chain.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• IoT adoption expanded rapidly because sensors and transistors became cheaper, allowing manufacturers to connect devices that previously served only one purpose. The panel cites estimates of 12.5 billion connected devices in 2012, 20 billion in 2018, and 30 billion by 2022, with further growth expected through cellular networks and 5G.

• Connected devices constantly create information about what people do, how they feel, where they travel, and how quickly they move. Investigators can treat this information as a potential evidentiary goldmine because it may reveal behavior, locations, and events. The information may be stored across different devices, systems, and service providers.

• IoT growth creates intertwined security, privacy, and integrity risks. Criminals can exploit vulnerable devices, steal generated information, and monetize it illegally. Attackers can also alter operational data, causing organizations to make decisions based on false information. Fitness-device data has even revealed the perimeter and location of a military forward operating base.