EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: BlackBerry’s chief security officer believes there is an increasingly fine line between safety and security in IoT and autonomous vehicles, and both will need to be addressed before the two markets can reach their true potential.

Speaking to Mobile World Live, Alex Manea explained the biggest challenge with regards to BlackBerry’s work on autonomous vehicles is bringing safety and security together, because “typically those are considered separate things”.

“Normally, when we think about security we think about protecting our data, protecting our phones, protecting our computers,” he said, adding: “When we think about safety, that’s when you start thinking about our cars, our homes, our personal safety. And that’s what’s interesting with connected autonomous vehicles. The more we connect these vehicles to the internet the more these types of internet based security threats that normally would threaten data and your privacy, they really start threatening your personal safety.”

He explained the same challenge is applicable to the number of connected devices coming to the fore, largely because this level of connectivity creates a new market for hackers.

While previously there was a threat to a computer, which would threaten a consumer’s data privacy, Manea explained there was now a threat to anything from smart TVs to smart refrigerators and even an IoT connected kettle.

“When you have all these types of devices that are literally inside your home and literally inside your office, it creates a totally different threat model,” he added.

In the interview, Manea also opened up on some of the major threats facing mobile users today. Click here to watch.