Korea is set to boost the security industry of Internet of Things – the connectivity of physical objects embedded with electronics, software and sensors via Internet.
The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said on Wednesday it would set out a three-year roadmap on information security of Internet of Things in an effort to boost the national IoT industry.
The government is slated to set aside a total of 10.7 billion won ($9.6 million) for the relevant industry, including 4.7 billion won for the development of original technologies of IoT security and 1.5 billion won for fostering relevant startups.
With the convergence between objects and information technology growing, concerns have been raised over the security issues, market watchers said. According to the state-run Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade, the scale of damage caused by Internet of Technology is expected to grow to 26.7 trillion won by 2030 from around 13.4 trillion won in 2015.
The Ministry is first set to form consultative body – comprising IoT manufacturers, security firms, colleges and public institutions - to boost the local security industry of Internet of Things, which is still at nascent stage.
The government is also to back research and development of three IoT areas – devices, network and service – with an aim of developing low-power, light-weight security libraries for password and authentication, along with controller System-on-Chip.
“With the era of Internet of Things beginning, security is no longer incidental service. It is now safety device everybody should follow without condition,” said Chung Han-geun, chief of the Ministry’s information security division.
“Marking this year as the first year of IoT security, we will continue to ramp up efforts to realize a safe smart nation,” he added.
Korea’s tech companies including Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are both working hard to take the lead in the global IoT market.
South Korea’s largest smartphone maker Samsung Electronics announced that it would invest $100 million in the development of IoT at the press briefing prior to the Consumer Electronics Show in January.
“IoT which connects all the world is not in some distant future but it has already begun,” said Yoon Boo-keun, chief of Samsung Electronics’ Consumer Electronics at the keynote speech of the CES.
“Samsung will realize the endless possibility of IoT based on human-centered technologies,” he added.
Samsung also predicted that all of its products would be connected through IoT technology by 2020, promising that it would make its IoT technologies and products open in a bid to remove barriers between devices made by other companies.
Samsung’s rival company LG Electronics is also paying a keen attention to the market based on its open platform.
During the press conference at the CES, Ahn Seung-Kwon, chief technology officer of LG Electronics noted its future IoT strategy – the differentiation of platform, the strengthening of the device and openness strategy.
LG unveiled its “Web OS 2.0” platform exclusive for smart TV, which analyzes consumers’ use pattern and helps them watch TV more conveniently. It also unveiled “Wellness Platform" equipped with bio signal analysis technology, which connects home appliances to smartphones and wearable devices to help users manage health information as well as lifestyle. It also control home appliances by capitalizing on physical information such as sleeping habits and heartbeats.
LG Electronics also plans to strengthen its partnership with Allseen Alliance’s IoT platform “AllJoyn” and IoT global standard “oneM2M” in a bid to improve connectivity among other devices.
“We will take the lead in the IoT market together with LG’s technology and open platform,” Ahn said.
