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Smart speakers at work? BlackBerry security expert warns on risk

By Administrator | 18 October 2018

BlackBerry isn't really a mobile phone company anymore - it's making most of its cash from software and protecting businesses from cyber attack.

The billion-dollar company's chief of information security, Mike Webber, says in an era of smart devices, businesses might not even know the risks sitting right there on their desks. The proliferation of consumer devices in the workplace is one threat to be wary of. CREDIT:AP

"The prevalence of 'bring your own device' and consumerisation of the mobile phone space, well exactly the same thing is happening with IoT ," Blackberry's chief information security officer Mike Webber tells Fairfax Media.

"So people bring speakers into the office, or they have their smart watch, and those things aren't typically well-secured."

The Canadian smartphone company has pivoted away from the mobile phone production in recent years.



It still produces phones (complete with the BlackBerry keyboard), but generates more than $700 million of its $967 million annual revenue from software, including security for business. BlackBerry chief information security officer Mike Webber.

Having worked in the IT sector for 35 years, Webber warns the tendency for businesses to let staff bring their own devices to work is a security risk, particularly for smartwatches, speakers and other devices. Read more

Emma Koehn - Brisbane Times - 17 October 2018

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