If it’s easy for hackers to spoof smart devices, the IoT dream is doomed. ForgeRock is leading the charge to create an identity platform that will keep the hackers out. Its CTO Lasse Andresen spoke to MEF Minute…

Whenever a person wants to transact with another person, he/she always has to ask two basic questions.

Who are you? And how can you prove it?

In the virtual world, this is proving hugely difficult – as the endless parade of data breaches, phishing scandals and social engineering scams proves.

If you don’t know someone, and you can’t see them, how can your trust them?

Solving ‘identity’ is the digital realm is a challenge. But now, it’s getting even harder.

Why? Because we’re moving towards a world in which the internet is not just comprised of people. It’s comprised of connected things.

Indeed, according to Intel, there could be 200 billion smart devices installed by 2020. That’s 26 for every human being on earth.

So how can we reinvent identity for a world of connected things? How can we ensure they trust each other – millions of times a day, with no human watching over?

A number of specialists are applying themselves to this question. They include ForgeRock, which has built an identity platform that creates unique digital credentials for both people and things.

These credentials are designed to be almost impossible to steal or copy, yet easy to implement inside any system.

In an exclusive interview with MEF Minute at Mobile World Congress, Lasse Andresen, co-founder and CTO of ForgeRock, gave his thoughts on the topic.