The Internet of Things (IoT) has undeniably transformed the business landscape. It has become central to the rapid transfer of information and data worldwide. These benefits have not gone unnoticed – to the contrary, IoT’s widespread popularity has contributed to industry-wide growth. Now, the global IoT industry is expected to grow by 24.3 per cent, reaching over four trillion dollars by 2032.
However, despite its many advantages, the connected nature of IoT devices brings serious cybersecurity implications. The more devices an organisation uses, the more endpoints it creates. These are potential gateways for threat actors to breach networks and disrupt essential services. Each new connection adds to an ever-expanding attack surface, making it increasingly difficult to defend. We’ve seen the consequences of such vulnerabilities before, with major incidents like the British Library’s cyberattack, which resulted in the loss of 600GB of sensitive data.
These risks are compounded by the fact that many organisations rely on constant, uninterrupted device communication. If systems go down due to an attack, vital information could be lost. Downtime – the period in which a device is unavailable or not functioning – costs the world’s 2,000 largest organisations an estimated $400 billion each year. But the consequences of downtime are not just financial. In sectors like healthcare, downtime can have life-changing implications for patients.
Although organisations can strengthen their internal systems to reduce the risk of downtime, evolving external threats present a challenge. In fact, our research with Kaleido Intelligence showed that 48 per cent of cellular IoT users list device and environment security as one of their top five challenges when scaling cellular IoT deployments. So, how can connectivity providers and organisations better mitigate the risks of downtime? And how can they take a more proactive approach to IoT security?
IoT Security 101 – What Are the Risks?
Organisations are increasingly integrating IoT devices into critical infrastructure, further expanding the attack surface for threat actors. These devices constantly communicate with servers, often handling sensitive data, while also running applications and processes that need to be secured. However, many IoT devices have limited computational resources, which makes it difficult to implement strong security protocols. Without these, devices are left vulnerable to a range of attacks, such as ransomware, unauthorised access and malware.
This demonstrates a key pain point – IoT solutions must be secured end-to-end. Once a weakness in the armour is identified, attackers will target it. If a threat actor finds a single vulnerability – whether it’s a misconfigured setting or an employee falling for a phishing email – it can snowball, compromising entire IoT fleets and disrupting vital services. The result? Widespread downtime and significant data losses across business-critical areas.
What Does This Mean for Connectivity Providers?
The security implications of always-on IoT devices are now a critical consideration for any organisation. Connectivity providers must expand their services beyond simply delivering strong connectivity. Customer demands reflect this shift. Our Kaleido Intelligence report showed that nearly half of all IoT adopters expect network threat detection and mitigation services to be part of what connectivity providers offer.
As organisations continue to roll out connected devices, these security concerns must be addressed. Robust security services are no longer a ‘nice to have’ – organisations expect their providers to go the extra mile to safeguard their investments. That’s why 88 per cent of both adopters and non-adopters now expect providers to offer tools to monitor device traffic metadata.
That said, business leaders also have a vital role to play in securing their operations. Internal precautions are essential to complement the security services of connectivity providers.
What Should Organisations Be Doing?
To maximise security, organisations must build on the efforts of their connectivity providers through a combination of proactive and reactive strategies.
Proactively, business leaders should look to strengthen their organisation’s device authentication processes. This could involve implementing legislation like the PSTI Act, which enforces stronger password credentials, or using multi-factor authentication (MFA). They should also invest in better training for employees, especially around threat detection. It takes one poorly managed phishing attempt to potentially compromise an entire IoT deployment. With these measures in place, an organisation can reduce the risk of unauthorised access and therefore downtime.
Reactively, it is important that an organisation understands what to do once a threat is identified. Training is crucial here. When good habits are embedded across an organisation, it becomes easier to act quickly and contain incidents. This can be the difference between a bad scenario and a catastrophic one. The implementation of ‘digital twins’ – virtual representations of devices and systems – can help staff rehearse their response protocols without real-world consequences, improving overall preparedness.
When both proactive and reactive measures are working in tandem, organisations can effectively build on the work of their connectivity providers, creating a more robust and secure IoT environment.
Conclusion
Cyberattacks remain a constant threat, with potentially severe financial, operational and reputational consequences. Connectivity providers must play their part in helping clients mitigate these risks – but it doesn’t stop there. Organisations must also adopt a 360-degree security approach, layering additional internal protections on top of what their providers deliver, to detect, defend against and respond to attacks.
As the year progresses, the threat landscape will continue to evolve. Organisations must remain agile, constantly adapting how they prevent and respond to threats. With the right frameworks in place, their ability to safeguard connected devices becomes significantly stronger and more resilient in the face of an ever-changing risk environment.
