Half of Companies Can't Detect IoT Breaches, Says Gemalto Study

In a recent announcement, Gemalto, digital security company, reveals that only around half (48 percent) of businesses can detect if any of their IoT devices suffers a breach, according to a recent study the company has released. This comes despite companies having an increased focus on IoT security:

• Spending on protection has grown (from 11 percent of IoT budget in 2017 to 13 percent now);
• Nearly all (90 percent) believing it is a big consideration for customers; and
• Almost three times as many now see IoT security as an ethical responsibility (14 percent), compared to a year ago (4 percent)
• With the number of connected devices set to top 20 billion by 2023, businesses must act quickly to ensure their IoT breach detection is as effective as possible.

Surveying 950 IT and business decision makers globally, Gemalto found that companies are calling on governments to intervene, with 79 percent asking for more robust guidelines on IoT security, and 59 percent seeking clarification on who is responsible for protecting IoT. Despite the fact that many governments have already enacted or announced the introduction of regulations specific to IoT security, most (95 percent) businesses believe there should be uniform regulations in place, a finding that is echoed by consumers1 95 percent expect IoT devices to be governed by security regulations.

“Given the increase in the number of IoT-enabled devices, it's extremely worrying to see that businesses still can't detect if they have been breached,” said Jason Hart, CTO, Data Protection, Gemalto. “With no consistent regulation guiding the industry, it's no surprise the threats - and, in turn, vulnerability of businesses - are increasing. This will only continue unless governments step in now to help industry avoid losing control.”

With such a big task in hand, businesses are calling for governmental intervention because of the challenges they see in securing connected devices and IoT services. This is particularly mentioned for data privacy (38 percent) and the collection of large amounts of data (34 percent). Protecting an increasing amount of data is proving an issue, with only three in five (59 percent) of those using IoT and spending on IoT security, admitting they encrypt all of their data.

More than 60 percent of consumers believe security needs to improve. When it comes to the biggest areas of concern 54 percent fear a lack of privacy because of connected devices, followed closely by unauthorised parties like hackers controlling devices (51 percent) and lack of control over personal data (50 percent).