We protect our homes with a single front door (generally speaking) don't we? Should our approach to cyber security be any different? Shouldn't we be able to look to one single security layer for protection?

Given the proliferation and diversity of malware, viruses, hacks, phishing, online fraud, spying and data theft - shouldn't we be able to protect our home networks in the same way that companies establish security firewalls? Could some of the ‘data separation' and ‘air gap' techniques used in secure facilities all the way up to nuclear power stations help us model similar approaches, which can be applied at the consumer level?

Connected people, connected security
As connected individuals today we are becoming very used to working across multiple form factors and jumping from smartphone to tablet to PC and onwards to connected televisions and the Internet of Things. Now that we have started to connect our refrigerator and other connected devices such as our security camera-enabled front doorbell to the web, isn't it time for a more powerful approach to home network security?

As we build more smart cities with more smart homes... a higher level of next-generation privacy protection and cyber security will be demanded at every level. Individuals will start to appreciate the need for (and how easy it can be to use) remote device management functionality and so users will refuse to accept any connectivity that fails to provide network bulletproofing.

Device management made easier
A new era and a new attitude towards device security is upon us. But individual consumers (and even small businesses) are not looking to become remote device management specialists - they want an easier route toward this kind of functionality.

Crucially, users want total device security for all their connected things delivered in an application. Crucially, users want total device security for all their connected things delivered in a smartphone app. Crucially, users want total device security for all their connected things across all platforms in a format that is simple and intuitive to install, set up and deploy.

The time is arguably right for a product like Bitdefender Box, i.e., the Internet of Things is spiraling upwards and outwards as we willingly adopt almost ubiquitous use of wearable fitness health trackers, home surveillance systems and all manner of other connected devices. Home users don't want to have to become their own sysadmins or network firewall engineers because home user don't know what a sysadmin is in the first place.

Android & Apple
Bitdefender Box can function as a stand-alone router, but it is best deployed alongside an existing WiFi router as a means of augmenting an existing home network with a new layer of security. This is a low power device that is powered by an app available from Google Play for Android or the App Store for iPhone or iPad - no, Windows phone does not appear to be supported at the moment.

This product runs using a selection of the same security technologies that have helped to build Bitdefender's name in the anti-malware space. The app itself is capable of triggering OS updates and patch installs for the level of protection that it is designed to offer. Users can also use the Box app to install a local agent to provide on-device protection for associated Windows, Mac and Android devices.

We now realize that consumers (even high end ‘prosumer' consumers) will demand a more centralized approach to device protection. Once again, nobody wants to become their own home network manager (okay yes, just a few willing geeks will always still say they do), so the market opportunity for this kind of essentially hardware based (with a good deal of onboard updateable connected firmware) is right in many senses.

The real USP
The real USP of a product like Bitdefender Box is in its ability to protect every device in your house, including the devices of visiting guests. The box (sorry, the Box) can protect connected printers. Desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, home heating thermostat systems, electronic lighting systems and connected fridges. The killer app factor here is that many of these devices are completely closed off in term of access to the user -- and this means they can't have antivirus protection installed.

Is the future of security in a single box rather than supplied in various software-based portions? It could be if Bitdefender Box proves popular and effective.

This post is brought to you by Bitdefender BOX.