Here in Santa Clara at Embedded Systems Conference Silicon Valley (#ESCSV), the halls are filled with embedded systems designers trying to learn the latest in design, development, tools and technologies. For us here at Trusted Computing Group, it is gratifying to see that this year’s event includes a number of sessions on security.

Why is that surprising? Well, for many years, security was just not a big issue for most embedded systems, which were baked into dedicated function devices, many of which were dedicated to doing one thing over and over or tucked away into remote locations. Importantly, while some systems might have been connected, as in ICS, they were mostly insulated from the outside world and its many security threats.

Of course, that has changed. From power plants to manufacturing floors to automobiles, embedded systems today are just as connected as their PC brethren. And, they now are just as vulnerable, even more so in many cases. The examples of hacked, attacked or otherwise compromised systems range from the infamous Stuxnet attacks in which infected code wormed into reactors to baby monitors that are hijacked by strangers. While the latter might be a good dinner party story, the potential for extensive damage and loss of life is very real.

We’ve been talking with those following embedded systems and they agree: it’s time for strong security, and trust and tools enabled by industry standards can make a real difference. And many of these are available now, vetted by the international standards community and cost efficient.

Check out this post from IoT Perspectives (http://www.iotperspectives.com) with their take on trust, security and the IoT. And watch for more updates here from #ESCSV, where we will speak today and demo a secure smart building application.

Find more on the event here: ow.ly/Pmmgr