Internet of Things is Creeping into the Average Lives of Consumers

Internet of Things Gone Wild

Thanks to rapid innovation, our lives are getting easier. But there is a price to be paid. The Internet of Things is creeping into the average lives of consumers in unexpected ways, creating new vulnerabilities even in what was once the safety of our own homes.

There’s the report late last week from California-based security firm Proofpoint uncovering the first proven Internet of Things-based attack that hijacked such smart household equipment as home routers, smart TVs, and even one unsuspecting and apparently innocent refrigerator to generate spam. The attack, which took place between December 23 and January 6, generated over 750,000 “malicious email communications” and involved over 100,000 “everyday consumer gadgets.”

Each of the below developments has been built to automatically collect data about users and send that data to others. The developers insist this data is being used to enhance the consumer experience in some way; but what they don't often reveal is all the ways that data is being used to help them make money or achieve some other objective.

Take a look at these examples and think twice before you volunteer your personal information by purchasing one of these "smart" products.

• LG markets a fridge that sends a text when the milk runs out, and this article says experts have long warned such a gadget is an attractive "soft target" for hackers. In fact, in one recent attack on 100,000 smart gadgets, 750,000 spam emails were sent to their owners.
  
• Google's smart contact lenses check in and report on your health, monitoring things like gluclose levels in your tears. One commenter's question was intended to be sarcastic, but in every joke there is a grain of truth. He asked: Will it send the wearer's glucose levels directly to the NSA or does that only happen after the contact lens syncs with Google's cloud? The fact is, if the lenses can report glucose levels, it is also technically possible to program them to report on many other types of activities, as well as more of your body contents and characteristics.
  
• Wearables devices monitor physical activity and connect wirelessly to online services charged with collecting data on the wearer. If insurance companies were able to collect and use this data for their underwriting purposes (which now let employers charge employees different health insurance rates based on whether they exercise, eat right or make healthy choices), these devices could spell disaster for insurance costs... not to mention the potential impacts if employers, potential employers, family members, etc. obtain the data.    
  
• Video baby monitors send signals far and wide. To test the vulnerability of these smart gadgets, a Miami TV reporter attached one of these baby-monitor receivers to the dashboard of his car. In just a few minutes, he was able to pick up images of babies and bedrooms. Traditional audio montiors are vulnerable, as well. During the summer of 2013, ABC News reported on a Houston couple who heard cursing and lewd remarks coming from their 2-year-old's baby monitor. It had been hacked.
  
• A clip-on camera takes a still image every 30 seconds in an effort to "record your life." How often have you come across a photo of yourself that if taken out of context could cause others to jump to the wrong conclusion (college days, anyone)? Worse, what happens when someone with a clip-on camera enters a public restroom or locker room and takes pictures of people (or children) in various stages of undress?

Successful Digital Strategy: Bridge the gap between CIO and CMO

CIO & CMO doesn't trust each other, IT doesn't provide fast turn-around!

Business is largely about competition and, even within organizations, a healthy dose of rivalry between colleagues can be a good thing. However, a survey just conducted by Accenture Interactive (see The CMO-CIO Disconnect) points to a downright unhealthy relationship in many C-Suites which can do nothing but damage to firms. 

At a time when many executives say that improving digital reach will be a significant differentiator for their companies, research shows that two of the most important digital leaders — the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and the Chief Information Officer (CIO) — do not trust each other, understand each other, or collaborate with each other.

That is very bad news for their businesses and, not incidentally, for their own careers. When IT and marketing departments work at cross-purposes, the results are inefficiencies and mishaps and it is customers who suffer. Potential buyers simply don't have the time or energy to do business with a company that makes things harder for them.

To begin to mend the CMO-CIO relationship, it's important to understand the source of each side's frustrations. CMOs' answers to survey questions make it clear that they view IT as an "execution and delivery" provider, instead of as a strategic partner. CMOs do not believe they are getting fast enough turnaround on projects and adequate quality from the IT departments. Because many CMOs do not believe they are getting the service they want from their IT departments, many bypass the IT department and work with outside vendors. Forty-five percent of marketing executives say they would prefer to enable marketing employees to operate data and content without IT intervention.

For their part, IT executives believe marketers make promises they can't keep and do not provide them with adequate information on business requirements. The CIOs believe the marketing teams often do not understand — or appreciate — data integration or IT standards. Nearly half (49 percent) of CIOs say marketing pulls in technologies without consideration for IT standards. Forty-seven percent say the marketing team lacks understanding of data integration.

CEOs and others in the C-suite should not turn a blind eye to this tension, hoping for it to resolve itself. It is crucial for companies to instill more collaboration and understanding across the functions.

Here are five suggestions for supporting a CMO-CIO relationship that will ultimately benefit customer experience and drive sales:

Identify the CMO as the "Chief Experience Officer."

This is more than simply a change in nomenclature It is a constant reminder to the CMO that the job doesn't end with branding and advertising. The CMO must design and drive a customer experience that is consistently first-rate, at every touch point within the company — a goal that lays more emphasis on the role of IT and the need to reach a deeper understanding.

Signal that IT is the strategic partner to marketing

The CIO cannot be viewed as only the chief technology platform provider; the role must be elevated to a strategic member of the C-suite.

Get the two leaders working from the same playbook

Already, CIOs and CMOs spend more than 30 percent of their respective budgets on technology. It is time for them to agree on key business levers for marketing and IT integration, such as access to customer data and speed to market along with security, privacy, and standardization.

Change the skill mixes

Make sure the marketing department becomes more tech savvy and the IT department better understands marketing. Again, coming together around the consumer and customers will help to breakdown internal silos and align agendas. Upgrading their skills will help both departments make better decisions about technology and understand its impact on business outcomes.

Develop trust by trusting

It is time for leaders in organizations to extend their trust to — and accept it from — business units beyond their own.

CIO can be Chief Digital Officer?

It's difficult — if not impossible — to build great digital capabilities without linking to your existing IT capabilities and people

CIOs who do great things in leading IT soon gain extra responsibilities. By helping business leaders to improve their businesses, the CIO becomes an obvious candidate to fill any open role that involves technology, process, or strong governance. Some CIOs become CIO-Plus-COO or CIO-Plus-Head of Shared Services. Others gain new responsibilities in strategy, integration, or innovation.

But there is another leadership role that has arisen in many organizations in recent years: the Chief Digital Officer (CDO). In many companies, "digital" is a cacophony of disconnected, inconsistent, and sometimes incompatible activities.

It's commonly seen that company have three simultaneous mobile marketing initiatives, conducted by different groups, using different tools and vendors. Other companies have multiple employee collaboration platforms with different rules and technologies. The problem is exacerbated as business units do their own things digitally, or as companies hire vendors who can only do things their own way.

The CDO's job is to turn the digital cacophony into a symphony. It's OK to experiment with new businesses and tools, but experimentation must be coupled with building scalable, efficient capabilities.

The CDO creates a unifying digital vision, energizes the company around digital possibilities, coordinates digital activities, helps to rethink products and processes for the digital age, and sometimes provides critical tools or resources. That's why Starbucks — an early leader in all things digital — hired a CDO last year. And it's why many other companies are naming CDOs before they get too far along the digital road.

The title CDO may or may not become permanent in the company. But the responsibilities of the CDO will be required. You may appoint a temporary CDO to get your house in order, or you may develop other ways to get the job done.

Whatever approach you choose, you need to create appropriate levels of digital technology synergy, brand integration, investment coordination, skill development, vendor management, and innovation over the long term.

In an increasingly digitizing business world, most companies need better digital leadership and coordination. You need to create a compelling digital vision, coordinate digital investments, drive appropriate synergies, build a clean technology platform, and foster innovation. You need to energize a busy workforce and generate shared understanding in your senior executive team.