Survey in five countries shows IoT is under cyberattack

from Survey in five countries shows IoT is under cyberattack
by Jeremy Cowan
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A WEEK IN IoT  —  Hosting a lively webinar debate yesterday on transitioning to LTE-M with Aeris and IoT Analytics, I couldn’t help noticing how often the audience asked questions on how to secure the Internet of Things. Several questioners acknowledged that signal jammers and radio scanning of IoT connections are now regularly ‘a thing’.

By Jeremy Cowan, editorial director, IoT Now & https://ift.tt/2eAly34

Maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise. A survey by Netherlands-based Irdeto published recently revealed that 79% of manufacturing and production organisations have experienced an IoT-focused cyberattack in the past year. Of 220 security decision-makers surveyed in the Internet of Things (700 respondents in total across healthcare, transport and manufacturing), nearly half of these organisations (47%) experienced operational downtime as a result of experiencing a cyberattack.

A survey shows that 79% of manufacturing and production organisations have experienced an IoT-focused cyberattack in the past year

The Irdeto Global Connected Industries Cybersecurity Survey of 220 security decision makers in organisations in this sector (700 respondents in total) found that of the organisations that were hit by an attack, operational downtime (47%), compromised customer data (35%) and compromised end-user safety (33%) were the most common impacts. These findings clearly point to a direct bearing on revenue as well as health safety challenges presented by unsecured IoT devices.

It seems these organisations are aware of where the key cybersecurity vulnerabilities exist with their infrastructure. Prominent vulnerabilities within manufacturing and production businesses were in mobile devices and apps (46%). This was followed by the IT network (41%) and the organisation’s software (40%). As Irdeto says, if respondents are referring to the operations technology (OT) equipment software running the factory floor, that “could be hugely problematic”.

Awareness is not enough

Despite this awareness, 92% of respondents feel their organisation does not have everything it needs to address cybersecurity challenges. In all, 44% state that their company needs to implement a more robust security strategy.

This is followed by a need for additional expertise/skills to address all aspects of cybersecurity (42%) and a need for more effective cybersecurity tools (37%) within the organisation.

That’s before we start on device security …

These are just the weaknesses in the first link in IoT’s chain. What about when IoT devices are deployed? In the survey, 91% of manufacturers and 96% of users of IoT devices state that the cybersecurity of their IoT devices could be improved.

I’ve spoken before about the reputational damage to the Internet of Things that is surely coming if our industry fails to address these challenges. On this occasion, let’s just look at the average financial impact. According to the survey, the average cost to a manufacturing business of an IoT-focused cyberattack is shown to more than US$280,000.

Mark Hearn of Irdeto: Rethink strategies to mitigate cyberattacks.

As Mark Hearn, director of IoT Security and Business Development at Irdeto says, there is an awareness of the cybersecurity challenges and impacts within the industry, but potentially a need to rethink strategies to mitigate the impact of potential cyberattacks. “Whatever the nature of the threat, industrial and [...]

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