Security is greatest concern in IoT deployment

Study reveals alarming level of security concerns and highlights need for IoT-specific security solutions

01 October 2019 –  IoT adopters have grave concerns for the security of their devices and networks according to research carried out by IMC, (the International IoT M2M council). The study, commissioned by Pod Group, provider of platforms, software and connectivity services for IoT, also unveils a growing demand for dedicated IoT security solutions.

The study, which questioned over 20,000 IoT adopters including IT, operations and product development managers and board-level decision makers from across the globe, found that security is by far the biggest challenge to IoT deployments (over 50 percent of respondents claimed this). IoT adopters are also overwhelmingly concerned about security threats to their IoT devices with nearly 70 percent of respondents saying they were very or extremely concerned about IoT security.  This stark level of concern is reflected in an increasing interest in implementing additional IoT-specific security solutions. While only a quarter of respondents are currently using additional dedicated IoT solutions, (24 percent), a further quarter (25 percent) are actively looking for such solutions and the vast majority (43 percent) are currently considering them.

For further peace of mind, IoT adopters would also like to have access to in-depth security information. The survey found that half of all respondents would like to see in-depth analytics and custom reports, while a further 45 percent said they would like to obtain security information in a simpler format.

Anna Stergioula, head of security at Pod Group, commented: “As more companies move towards digital transformation and embrace IoT and the applications it enables, growth rates of IoT adoption look set to spiral. With this marked growth comes a number of challenges and risks. According to the latest report by Subex[1], a leading software and security solutions provider, cyberattacks on IoT devices increased by 13 percent while recce attacks were up 22 percent on the previous quarter. As the results of the IMC survey demonstrate, security is currently top of mind for IoT adopters and their concerns are not unfounded.”

She added: “IoT devices are notoriously difficult to secure because their basic interfaces cannot support simple network security features. However, robust IoT-specific security solutions, such as ours, offer organisations the assurance that their network and their devices are protected with the most advanced and scalable monitoring and threat detection tools. Security need not be a barrier to the adoption of IoT technology”.

Pod Group supplies IoT security solutions to businesses across a number of vertical sectors including healthcare, retail, manufacturing, energy, banking and finance, transport and logistics. The company’s end-to-end IoT security module, Pod Secure, is  part of the Pod IoT Suite, a modular platform enabling  IoT companies, OEMs and systems integrators to connect, manage, bill and secure their connected devices.

[1] The state of IoT security, April – June 2019 (www.subexsecure.com/the-state-of-iot-security-report-q2-2019)

About Pod Group

Pod Group is a specialist in complete connectivity solutions tailored to Internet of Things (IoT) applications, bringing over 20 years of experience, research and innovation to the mobile connectivity market. With offices across the globe and access to 600+ networks in 185 countries, Pod Group provides global multi-network, multi-IMSI, eUICC and LPWAN connectivity solutions combined with end to end IoT security, centralized connectivity management and a hierarchical billing platform.

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Amy Garcia Rendle
Email: amy.garcia@podgroup.com
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Phone: +44 (0) 1223 850 900