IoT security spending is set to reach $348 million (£240 million) this year, an increase of 23.7 percent from $281.5 million (£194 million) in 2015, according to Gartner.
Spending in this area will continue to increase over the next few years, reaching $547 million in 2018. It’ll grow at a much faster rate after 20120, when better skills and organisational change impact execution.
Gartner also predicts that by 2020, over 25 percent of cyber-attacks on organisations will involve the Internet of Things – despite it only accounting for less than 10 percent of security budgets.
As a result of this, security vendors will face the challenge of having to provide sustainable, usable security features due to limited budgets and the decentralised nature of IoT implementations.
Vendors will focus on finding vulnerabilities and exploits as well, instead of segmentation and long-term solutions that are more effective for protecting IoT.
These findings on IoT security come as many continue to worry about the safety of IoT. Gartner forecasts that there’ll be 6.4 billion connected products being used worldwide this year alone, up 30 percent from 2015.
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IoT security is essential
Wolfgang Kandek, CTO at Qualys, says that IoT is becoming increasingly threatened as it grows and that devices aren’t being built well from a software perspective.
He told Internet of Business: “Today, more and more ‘things’ are being connected to the Internet, from thermostats to toys. But although these IoT devices may be high-tech and popular, they also have some major weak spots.
“The biggest issue is how well these devices have been built from a software perspective. These gadgets require a network connection in order to access the Internet, so they will often be added to the Wi-Fi network inside homes and offices.
“However, giving ‘things’ access to the Internet increases risk as many of them aren’t built with security in mind. For example, potential hacks have been found in Hello Barbie that would allow an attacker to monitor and even modify conversation data or attack other devices on the Wi-Fi network.”
Dr Adrian Davis, managing director EMEA at (ISC)², believes that IoT will spur a wide variety of sectors to begin investing more in IT and security capabilities.
He said: “The IoT will compel sectors as diverse as rail and home appliances to begin investing in IT and security capabilities to avoid reintroducing design errors that can be incredibly costly down the line.
“As the array of products and concepts blending technology, service and data, such as Industry 4.0, develop in an increasingly complex and interconnected digital economy, a ‘security by design’ approach will be paramount.”
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