IoT proliferation is huge, though the actual number varies considerably depending on who you believe. Back in 2021, IDC estimated there would be 55.7 billion connected IoT devices by 2025. More recently, TechJury & IHS Markit predicted up to 75 billion, while IoT Analytics provided a more conservative estimate of 27.1 billion connected IoT devices this year.
Whatever the exact number, it’s huge and one thing’s for certain: there are far more IoT devices in the world than there are people. In the business world, in everywhere from mid-sized companies to major corporations, IoT devices certainly outnumber people, laptops, and mobile devices combined.
IoT security challenge
Because the extended Internet of Things (xIoT) is so ingrained in office life, it’s easy to overlook the vulnerabilities behind everything from motion detection sensors and smart lighting to automated temperature control, security cameras, employee identification badges, and more.
With every connected device representing an attack surface that hackers can exploit, xIoT presents cybersecurity risks that are critical to manage. To get on the front foot to avoid breaches of sensitive data or unauthorised control of critical systems, all mid-market and enterprise businesses should be taking proactive measures.
If you think about your mobile ecosystem, most companies will have adopted best practices around enterprise mobility management. Components such as mobile threat detection and MDM solutions provide the right level of control, protection and compliance for each type of data and device on your network without placing onerous restrictions on your people. These tools allow you limit damage and regain control over lost or compromised data and devices without impacting employee productivity.
It's the same for other end-user devices such as desktops, servers, routers, and printers. Companies typically protect these devices on the network through a secure access service edge (SASE) framework, intrusion detection and prevention system (IDPS), firewall technologies, identity and access management (IAM), and cloud access security broker (CASB) services, amongst others.
Alarming IoT vulnerabilities
But when it comes to xIoT, too many companies fall short of identifying all the IoT devices on their networks and are not equipped to manage the cybersecurity risks that come with them, especially since xIoT devices can represent as much as 30% of your organisation’s attack surface.
What’s more, according to data from xIoT security management specialist, Phosphorus Cybersecurity, many businesses face alarming security gaps, including:
- 50% of xIoT devices are deployed with the default password
- 68% of devices have critical vulnerabilities
- 80% of organisations can’t identify the majority of xIoT devices deployed on their networks.
imei IoT Protect
To safeguard your xIoT environment, we’ve joined forces with the industry's only xIoT discovery and remediation platform from Phosphorus, to offer our new managed service, imei IoT Protect.
Built on Phosphorus Intelligent Active Discovery, imei’s IoT Protect managed service provides accurate, safe, and rapid discovery of all xIoT devices on your network. The solution effectively eliminates the xIoT security gap, finding every xIoT device on your network, fixing it, and bringing everything into compliance. As a managed service, our expert team handles the implementation for you, minimising the time and resources you need to manage this area of cybersecurity risk.
Get ahead of growing xIoT cybersecurity risks
With the use of xIoT devices continuing to accelerate, make sure you get ahead of the growing cybersecurity risks by adopting a comprehensive IoT risk management strategy. For more information on imei IoT Protect, please get in touch.
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