Cardiac devices, baby heart monitors, webcams, automobiles … all “internet of things”-connected today and all very hackable.

These are just a few of the estimated 27 billion IoT devices expected to be on the market by the end of this year. And most of those devices will represent a big cybersecurity threat if not properly managed.

“What you don’t know you can’t see, and what you can’t see you can’t monitor,” said Charlotte Wylie (pictured), chief of staff, global security office at Symantec Corp. “You’ve definitely got IoT on your network somewhere, everyone has. But if you can’t see that thing, it is an incredibly vulnerable threat vector for any organization.”

Wylie spoke with Jeff Frick, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during last week’s RSA Conference in San Francisco. They discussed a high-profile breach that highlighted the exposure created by IoT devices and Symantec’s recent work to increase hiring diversity. (* Disclosure below.)

41 million cards affected

One of the most prominent IoT hacking examples involved the breach in 2013 of Target Corp. Cyberattackers gained access to the retail giant’s computer network by using credentials stolen from a third-party vendor’s device that remotely monitored energy usage at various locations. This allowed the criminals to load malware on the store’s connected point-of-sale terminals.

More than 41 million customer payment card accounts were affected, and the company paid an $18 million fine.

“That really originated from a compromised heating, ventilation and air conditioning system,” Wylie said. “It was compromised because they didn’t have visibility over their IoT. If you visualize, you can segment and enforce and then you can take control of what has access to your network.”

In addition to working with Symantec clients to safeguard network systems, Wylie has also been involved in a major initiative to bring in a diverse set of candidates whenever the company has an opening.

Symantec has already seen results based on a concerted effort in just a short period. “We saw a rise of interview-to-conversion for females in six months of 40 percent,” Wylie said. “Having a diverse set of candidates and making sure that we’re really giving everyone an opportunity to come in has changed the playing field.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the RSA Conference. (* Disclosure: Forescout Technologies Inc. sponsors theCUBE’s coverage of the RSA Conference. Neither Forescout nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE