Gemalto revealed that 90% of consumers lack confidence in the security of Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

According to a survey conducted by Gemalto, consumers’ main fear is hackers taking control of their device. Despite 54% of respondents owning an IoT device, just 14% believe that they are extremely knowledgeable when it comes to the security of these devices, showing education is needed among both consumers and businesses.

In terms of the level of investment in security, the survey found IoT device manufacturers and service providers spend just 11% of their total IoT budget on securing their IoT devices.

67% of organisations reported encryption as their main method of securing IoT assets, with 62% encrypting the data as soon as it reaches their IoT device. 92% of companies also see an increase in sales or product usage after implementing IoT security measures.

Integrity of data

Jason Hart, CTO for Data Protection at Gemalto, said: “It’s clear that both consumers and businesses have serious concerns around IoT security and little confidence that IoT service providers and device manufacturers will be able to protect IoT devices and more importantly the integrity of the data created, stored and transmitted by these devices.”

“With legislation like GDPR showing that governments are beginning to recognise the threats and long-lasting damage cyber attacks can have on everyday lives, they now need to step up when it comes to IoT security. Until there is confidence in IoT amongst businesses and consumers, it won’t see mainstream adoption.”

According to the survey, businesses are in favor of regulations to make it clear who is responsible for securing IoT devices and data at each stage of its journey (61%) and the implications of non-compliance (55%). In fact, almost every organisation (96%) and consumer (90%) is looking for government-enforced IoT security regulation.

Government-enforced IoT security regulation

Hart continued: “The lack of knowledge among both the business and consumer worlds is quite worrying and it’s leading to gaps in the IoT ecosystem that hackers will exploit.

“Within this ecosystem, there are four groups involved – consumers, manufacturers, cloud service providers and third parties – all of which have a responsibility to protect the data.

“Security by design is the most effective approach to mitigate against a breach. Furthermore, IoT devices are a portal to the wider network and failing to protect them is like leaving your door wide open for hackers to walk in.

”Until both sides increase their knowledge of how to protect themselves and adopt industry standard approaches, IoT will continue to be a treasure trove of opportunity for hackers.”

Businesses are realising they need support in understanding IoT technology, turning to partners for help.

Written from press release by Leah Alger