Study: Companies largely unconcerned with IoT security

Recent research looking at the challenges and opportunities associated with the Internet of Things has found that only about one third of business organizations think they need to improve their IoT data security.

“If you are trying to decide if the glass is full or empty, that glass seems two-thirds empty to me,” wrote MIT Sloan Management Review’s Sam Ransbotham in an article for Freedom to Tinker, an online journal hosted by Princeton’s Center for Information Technology Policy and focused on digital technologies in public life.

The study from MIT Sloan Management Review found that 66% of respondents weren’t concerned about IoT data security. At the same time, most of those questioned don’t regard their organizations as “extremely effective” at securing IoT data. Which could suggest, according to Ransbotham, that organizations need step up their IoT security game, but aren’t too concerned about it.

The researchers queried 1,480 executives, managers and IT professionals from a variety of industries — who have or haven’t had experience with IoT projects. When asked about what needs to be done to take advantage of IoT, respondents selected the need to improve data security and sensor-data security less often than any other option given by the researchers. Which means security is at the bottom of the list when it comes to IoT projects’ priorities.

Companies that are active with IoT show more concern for security. But the report notes that those organizations that don’t yet engage in IoT projects aren’t the only ones responsible for the general lack of concern about IoT security.

The study warns that the low awareness of the need to improve IoT security combined with a tendency to increase data sharing between organizations in the context of unprecedented IoT growth can lead to even more dangers.

What does this all mean for the consumer? In spite of the numerous warnings from experts, it looks like the industry is still not ready to pay more attention to IoT security. Many smart devices are not built with security in mind, and the lack of concern for security may also affect infrastructure projects. All this ultimately puts the consumer’s privacy and security at risk. Until organizations decide to focus on IoT security, it’s up to you to protect yourself. Click here to learn how to secure your smart devices.