The Enterprise of Thing’s troubling lack of security

When it comes to security and manageability, Enterprise of Things (EoT) devices must have far more stringent requirements than consumer IoT devices, which often have virtually no built-in security. Indeed, enterprise use of consumer-grade IoT is highly risky.

Making the matter even more urgent is the growing number of deployed EoT devices, which is expected to increase significantly over the next two to three years. (I estimate there will be more “things” in an enterprise than PC and mobile phone clients combined within three to four years.)

As a result, it is imperative that companies address the growing security requirements for these devices in order to avoid any potential catastrophic events (e.g., hacking of automated tools, disruption of processes, autonomous vehicles losing control, drones crashing, GPS systems redirected, etc.). While some may be costly in terms of data or production loss, others may be downright deadly.

3 strategies for improving EoT security

There are many issues involving EoT security, which should be seen as an integrated component of overall enterprise security and not a unique requirement. For this brief discussion, I’ll focus on three key points that can easily make or break an EoT installation.