The installed base of IoT devices is forecast to triple from 23.14 billion in 2018 to 75.44 billion in 2025, said a new report, highlighting the security concerns around the rapidly growing use of IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things).

Organisations hold disparate and unrealistic views on protecting the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), in which endpoints are considered to be the most vulnerable aspects, despite confusion over what actually constitutes an endpoint, added the report titled “2018 SANS Industrial IoT Security Survey” from SANS Institute, a leading provider of cyber security training and certification.

IIoT is the subset of the Internet of Things that focuses specifically on the industrial application of connected physical devices within critical infrastructure such as electricity, manufacturing, oil and gas, transportation and healthcare.

“The industrial and manufacturing organisations in the Middle East are aligned with the global trend of leveraging IIoT to drive innovation in areas such as data analytics, process optimization, automation, and artificial intelligence,” explained Ned Baltagi, managing director, Middle East & Africa at SANS.

“What’s more, because they are not hindered by legacy IT infrastructures, they have a greater ability to innovate at a faster pace. What organisations must not fail to do is to understand and evaluate the security implications of IIoT, as the effects of poor IIoT security could be far reaching.”

The SANS report found that most organisations globally are forecasting 10 to 25 per cent growth in their connected devices. This growth rate will cause the systems connected to IIoT devices to double in size roughly every three to seven years. This will ultimately result in increased network complexity as IT and OT become more connected, more demand for bandwidth, and the need for personnel skilled in best security practices related to the design, build and operation of IIoT systems.

Of over 200 respondents surveyed, more than half reported the most vulnerable aspects of their IIoT infrastructure as data, firmware, embedded systems, or general endpoints. At the same time, however, the survey reveals an ongoing debate over the definition of an endpoint.

Doug Wylie, director of the Industrials & Infrastructure Business Portfolio at SANS Institute, said: “The discrepancy in defining IIoT endpoints is the basis for some of the confusion surrounding responsibility for IIoT security.”

“Many practitioners likely are not adequately identifying and managing the numerous assets that in some way connect to networks – and present a danger to their organisations.

“For this reason, it is important for company IT and OT groups to agree to a common definition to help ensure they adequately identify security risks as they evolve their systems to adapt to new architectural models,” he added.

Other concerns around IIoT security include:

•    32 per cent of IIoT devices connect directly to the internet, bypassing traditional IT security layers
•    Almost 40 per cent said identifying, tracking and managing devices represented a significant security challenge
•    Only 40 per cent reported applying and maintaining patches and updates to protect their IIoT devices and systems
•    56 per cent cited difficulty in patching as one of the greatest security challenges

The survey also uncovered a wide gap between the perceptions of IIoT security by OT, IT and management, with only 64 per cent of OT departments claiming to be confident in their ability to secure IIoT infrastructure, compared to 83 per cent of IT departments and 93 per cent of business leaders.

“The report highlights a real disparity across organisations in the level of confidence as to how secure the IIoT really is,” said Barbara Filkins, SANS Analyst Programme research director and survey report author.

“This disparity represents the need for a major cultural change in how industrial organisations must approach the security risks in a world of IIoT.” – TradeArabia News Service