Hope over experience? Perhaps, especially when companies said that their main concern is that IoT security in an unknown quantity – risks aren’t well understood and the skills needed to ensure adequate levels of security have yet to be developed.
The report did find that companies were investing more in security – focusing on staff recruitment, training, process improvements and their relationships with providers.
Over three quarters said that security risks are now a fact of life, while 60 percent said that they believed they had the necessary skills in place, along with processes and technology, to manage IoT security. That leaves a sizeable gap between those who see a risk and those who believe they are well placed to manage it.
Some 41 percent of companies are recruiting security specialists; 45 percent are establishing clear security best practice and guidelines for staff while 40 percent are now working with a specialist security provider.
The auditor and consultancy film PwC has just announced that it is hiring more than 1,000 tech specialists in the UK over the next four years to bolster its cybersecurity services. The move follows a number of hacks on UK businesses.
Recruits will look to tackle cybersecurity and privacy threats, as well as data management, business systems and IT risks.
Commenting on the report, Machina Research, a specialist analyst focused on M2M said that while there are no silver bullets companies need to identify specific threats and act proportionately. According to Machina companies working in the IoT space should focus their efforts and resources where they are needed most; while companies should be careful as to whom they pick to work with.
But above all when it comes to security companies should learn from others’ errors – that suggests however that companies are happy, willing and able to admit their mistakes let alone share them with competitors and suppliers.
