Less than one-third of organizations are prepared for Internet of Things (IoT) security risks, according to a survey conducted by Tripwire Inc.
The company, a provider of endpoint detection and response products, surveyed more than 220 information security professionals at the recent Black Hat USA 2016 conference about their readiness for IoT security risks and 30% said they were prepared.
Only 34% of the respondents think their organizations accurately track the number of IoT devices on their networks. Despite their popularity, IoT devices present significant and unique security risks to consumers and businesses, the company said.
“The Internet of Things presents a clear weak spot for an increasing number of information security organizations,” said Tim Erlin, director of IT security and risk strategy for Tripwire.
“As an industry, we need to address the security basics with the growing number of IoT devices in corporate networks. By ensuring these devices are securely configured, patched for vulnerabilities and being monitored consistently, we will go a long way in limiting the risks introduced.”
Additional findings of the survey: 78% of the respondents are concerned about the weaponization of IoT devices in the use of distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS); nearly half (47%) expect the number of IoT devices on their networks to increase by at least 30% in 2017; only 11% consider DDoS attacks one of the top two security threats their organizations face.
