Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons Podcast

Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons Podcast


Securing the Internet of Things

April 17, 2023

As cybersecurity experts love to say, the “S” in “IoT” stands for security… meaning there is none. I’ve seen estimates that say there were almost 30 billion IoT devices on the internet in 2022. I have dozens of them on my home network alone. Each of these devices contains at least one computer, which is running potentially hackable software. And because these devices have internet connections, they are vulnerable to cyber attacks from anywhere on the planet. Today I’ll ask Bill Niefert from Corellium how IoT devices differ from regular computers, how secure they are, what the risks are of insecure smart devices, and how we can make them better.


Interview Notes

Further Info

Table of Contents

Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show.


  • 0:00:40: Interview terminology preview
  • 0:04:49: Tell us about Corellium and what you do there
  • 0:09:34: What is an ARM processor?
  • 0:12:23: How do IoT devices compare to regular computers?
  • 0:16:03: How do you design for security in cheap, slow IoT devices?
  • 0:20:10: Are IoT devices fundamentally more hackable than regular computers?
  • 0:25:07: Does your home Wi-Fi router adequately shield IoT devices from hacking?
  • 0:28:31: Should you put IoT devices on your guest network?
  • 0:34:35: What are the real-world dangers of having compromised IoT devices?
  • 0:37:34: What is the new Matter IoT framework all about?
  • 0:43:47: Does the Matter standard come with improved cybersecurity?
  • 0:45:30: What are the privacy concerns for IoT devices?
  • 0:53:19: Should IoT manufacturers be held liable for security failures?
  • 0:58:18: Wrap-up
  • 0:59:16: What is a Raspberry Pi and what can I do with it?
  • 1:01:25: Matter security and privacy
  • 1:02:16: Bonus content

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