A recent report by the Irish research firm Research and Markets find that the global security market for the Internet of Things should grow by slightly less than 50 percent through 2022.
IoT security comprises security platforms, software solutions, services, and hardware used for securing and safeguarding IoT systems in the industrial, commercial, and consumer sectors, according to the firm.
Market drivers include increasing government regulations around IoT security, while challenges include the increasing complexity of IoT networks.
Meanwhile Gartner, a research firm in Stamford, Conn., says IoT security spending will reach $1.5 billion this year, a 28 percent increase over 2017 spending levels of $1.2 billion. What’s more, Gartner found IoT security spending to reach $3.1 billion by 2021.
Gartner also found increasing government regulatory compliance, along with increased attacks, as the prime reason behind that increased spending number.
IoT-based attacks are already a reality, according to a Gartner survey done earlier this year. That survey found nearly 20 percent of organizations followed saw at least one IoT-based attack in the past three years. Protecting against these threats will also
“In IoT initiatives, organizations often don’t have control over the source and nature of the software and hardware being utilized by smart connected devices,” said Ruggero Contu, research director at Gartner.
He expects to see increased demand this year for tools and services aimed at improving discovery and asset management, software and hardware security assessment, and penetration testing.
“In addition, organizations will look to increase their understanding of the implications of externalizing network connectivity,” Contu said.
“Although IoT security is consistently referred to as a primary concern, most IoT security implementations have been planned, deployed and operated at the business-unit level, in cooperation with some IT departments to ensure the IT portions affected by the devices are sufficiently addressed,” Contu said. “However, coordination via common architecture or a consistent security strategy is all but absent, and vendor product and service selection remains largely ad hoc, based upon the device provider’s alliances with partners or the core system that the devices are enhancing or replacing.”
The absence of “security by design” comes from a lack of specific and stringent regulations at companies.
While many organizations have included basic security in many of their projects within one area of the company, they’ve not yet codified those security arrangements into policy or design templates to allow for consistent reuse. As a result, technical standards for specific IoT security components in the industry are only now just starting to be addressed across established IT security standards bodies, consortium organizations and vendor alliances, Contu said.
Going forward, Gartner expects this trend to change, especially in heavily regulated industries such as healthcare and automotive.
By 2021, Gartner predicts that regulatory compliance will become the prime influencer for IoT security uptake. Industries having to comply with regulations and guidelines aimed at improving critical infrastructure protection are being compelled to increase their focus on security as a result of IoT permeating the industrial world, Contu said.
“Interest is growing in improving automation in operational processes through the deployment of intelligent connected devices, such as sensors, robots and remote connectivity, often through cloud-based services,” he said. “This innovation, often described as Industrial Internet of Things, or Industry 4.0, is already impacting security in industry sectors deploying operational technology, such as energy, oil and gas, transportation, and manufacturing.”
