The future securely belongs to IoT

Many people would prefer not to talk about the topic of IoT security. Unfortunately, since attacks on IoT infrastructures are not uncommon, ignoring the subject would be a very bad idea. A variety of studies show that up to 70 percent of those surveyed have information about an attack on their installed IoT. And if that wasn’t concerning enough, more than 80 percent say that they aren’t certain if their IoT is sufficiently secure.

It’s no wonder, then, that we keep on encountering skepticism about IoT security when we talk to customers. Even though top-level managers know they can’t avoid IoT, if they want to stay competitive over the medium-term with their product portfolio, they still fear that they may be opening a new door for attackers from the internet, which may damage their company.

These fears may even be positive. After all, people handle the things appropriately that they take seriously. Cyberattacks can only be countered if information security is not only an IT issue, but an OT issue as well. To achieve this goal, companies need to make organizational adjustments.

And providers need to take IoT security seriously as well. Security needs to be a key design principle for all IoT assets.

Moreover, I believe that IoT platforms like Cumulocity IoT can contribute a thing or two to IoT security:

• With an IoT platform that delivers strong device management, those in charge can maintain an overview of all their connected IoT devices.
• Automatic software distribution for device management allows fast, remote installation of security patches at the click of a button — anywhere in the world for thousands of even hundreds of thousands of connected devices.
• Since only explicitly registered devices can establish contact with the platform, no unknown devices can sneak into the IoT. In addition, communication between the devices is encrypted.
• The multi-tenant approach enables granular management of users and rights. That way project supervisors have flexibility to determine who can access the data. With the application management, every tenant can manage their own applications and expand the platform according to their own needs with suitable applications.
• Remote monitoring of an IoT platform can detect the smallest behavior anomalies in connected devices. This enables compromised assets to be shut down quickly, for instance, to reduce the risk of damage.

How do you see the Internet of Things in the context of security? Is your security department well-positioned for the OT?