In a move that seems to have been plucked from the Cyberpunk rulebook, Kaspersky has revealed that it has created a policy that addresses bionic augmentation.
Are bionic augmentations something that we should be concerned about right now? From a security perspective, absolutely. According to data from Global Market Insights, the bionic devices market was worth $4.7 billion in 2020. At a compound annual growth rate of 8.1 percent, it’s predicted the market will be worth $7.9 billion by 2027.
While this is not astronomic growth, it’s clear that Kaspersky wants to implement policies and procedures about bionic augmentation before it’s too late.
“Human augmentation is a burgeoning area of technology which in fact remains underexplored. That’s why making a first step towards clarifying issues related to its use, as well as strengthening security, will help us to ensure its potential is used in a positive way. We believe that to build a safer digital world for tomorrow, we need to digitally secure the future of human augmentation today,” explains director of Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team in Europe, Marco Preuss.
The policy itself is a bit thin on the ground at the moment but covers chip implants, bionic limbs, artificial internal organs and artificial sensory organs such as hearing aids or visual prostheses.
As regards chip implants, the focus here is on NFC chips for access control. NFC chips need to meet certain criteria but employees could be allowed to use a chip implant for access control, providing this access is revoked upon leaving the company.
There is also a special policy for employees with artificial sensory organs and artificial bionic limbs. These include highlighting rooms which have elevated electric fields greater than 6.5 V/m.
Furthermore, bionics which could record audio or video need to be reported to the Information Security Department in order to get approval. New and potential employees will also have to disclose these bionics during the interview process.
The policy as it stands right now can be viewed here.
While it may seem laughable to be preparing for a rise in bionic augmentations, we’d argue that Kaspersky is ahead of the curve here. When the Internet of Things (IoT) became a reality, much focus was put on connectivity and not much on security. Before long there were reports of TVs and fridges being hacked and not long after that internet connected cameras were being used to launch DDoS attacks.
Security should always be a primary consideration, especially when we’re augmenting our bodies.
[Image – CC 0 Pixabay]
