IIoT awesome, but only 25 percent of execs are deploying it

An overwhelming majority of business leaders said that the adoption of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is critical to their company’s future success, but only a quarter of them are deploying the technology today.

In the survey, released by Genpact Research Institute, it said data security was the most prominent reason why IIoT deployments were not happening today. Business leaders are also worried about lack of technology skills, use of legacy systems, and privacy issues.

“IIoT has the potential to transform traditional supply chain practices saving companies valuable resources and time,” said Guy Yehiav, CEO of Profitect. “Yet, businesses are cautious to implement IIoT because it’s still relatively new. Since this form of IoT collects various data points it provides even more data, not less. Dealing with the data is what makes it valuable, but it can be a challenge for businesses to fully trust and whether or not anomalies are being picked-up.”

Profitect provides a prescriptive analytics solution for IIoT deployments, which Yehiav says can spot irregularities and recognize areas of the business working well. This solution gives businesses better understanding of the deployment success, which may not be felt financially until a few years down the line.

34 percent of the 173 executive responses said data quality is blocking the current deployment of IIoT in their businesses. Profitect and other analytics are attempting to convince execs that the data collected can save them millions and provide meaningful solutions, but it doesn’t appear to have sunk in at the present time.

“I don’t see executives as more cautious than usual, but IIoT usually has to do with connecting devices that have not been connected before, so there are security and technical issues to be solved,” said Kai Goerlich, research director at SAP. “Furthermore to really use the full potential of IoT, the operations should be in real-time, which means generated data has to be analyzed and uses based on real-time databases and algorithms.”

“This is a major investment for many companies and they often lack a clear business plan, the skills and budgets to defend the IoT projects internally.”

Goerlich’s arguments match up with the data provided in the Genpact Research survey, almost 50 percent of businesses are attempting to develop a clear IIoT strategy, 30 percent won’t have an IoT plan in the next 12 months.

It is possible that some business leaders are deploying IIoT without a good grasp of the effects it will have, although Goerlich believes a business only looking to save money will see benefits instantly. It is when businesses start messing around with more complex data from IIoT devices that they struggle, due to lack of understanding or not teaching staff members the benefits of the new connected devices.

Attacks on IIoT assets also raise fears

Cyber attacks are another cause for concern among business leaders. In the survey, 50 percent of execs think IIoT deployment increases their company’s susceptibility to cyber attacks, which could be anything from targeted destruction to ransomware.

“Anything that expands and diversifies the attack surface increases the risk of cyber attacks,” said Rob Sadowski, marketing director at RSA, the security division inside EMC. “There are two distinct aspects that need to be considered.  First is that by adding IoT, you are creating another point of entry that could be utilized by an attacker to compromise your broader network. Second, IoT can be an attractive target for attackers looking to perpetrate highly-visible disruptive or destructive attacks.”

That’s a rather gloomy statement for business leaders on the fence about IIoT, but Sadowski provided a list of ways companies can mitigate these risks and effectively secure IIoT devices from the outside world.

•   Ensure that IoT are deployed in a physically secure manner
•   Integrate IoT into existing vulnerability management processes
•   Provide secure access to IoT
•   Monitor the devices for attacks and intrusions
•   Understand/evaluate the devices native “built-in” security features

This comes back to the insufficient skills of technology staff obstacle, which 35 percent of executives say is holding them off deployment. Companies, especially large firms, need to employ IoT specialists or seek help from third-parties, like RSA, which provides a range of scalable security tools for businesses.

IIoT has been pegged, alongside automation, as a possible Fourth industrial revolution.1The third, the introduction of computers to the workplace, has seen incredible bounds in productivity over the last 30 years. Firms working on IoT expect these connected devices to provide even more than that, as we enter into an age of autonomy, robotics, and big data analytics in the workplace.

Could IoT be inviting malicious software into your home?

It’s no secret that we here at ReadWrite love the Internet of Things (IoT). This is our focus, and one of the most interesting sectors of em1erging technology today. However, it’s far from perfect. Security issues have long been a concern for IoT, and a recent speaker at the Black Hat technology and security conference shed light on exactly why those concerns aren’t just prudent, they’re often justified.

When you attend Black Hat, the devices you carry with you are about as insecure as they ever could be. A lot of attendees only bring systems with them that are sterile of private information and easily formatted afterwards. Connecting to a public network here is about as advisable as playing Marco Polo in a pool of sharks. Attendees carry cash instead of credit cards, notepads and pens instead of laptops, and often they even leave their driver’s license behind.

But what about IoT devices? These devices have their own software baked in and, by design, give their users a very limited level of control over what they connect to and how.

When Eyal Ronen, a graduate student from Israel, has spent time researching the security of Philips Hue lighting systems. During his research, he was able to build a solution that tricked Philips lights into connecting to his network instead of the one they were presently assigned. He worked out a method to circumvent the 10-20 meter range limitations for controlling these lights and control them from 20-70 meters away – long enough to send signals from a passing car or drone.

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He demonstrated this vulnerability during a session he presented at during Black Hat. His demonstration involved controlling a couple lamps located just off stage, but it offered attendees insight into just how easy it is to circumvent the security of some IoT devices.

The impact of an insecure IoT

The IoT is data driven. Information is continuously being shared between devices and most of them are doing this in a way that the human users never actually see on a screen. When our desktop computers are hijacked and become part of a bot net used by spammers and DDoS attackers, the evidence of this can be exceedingly difficult to identify.

If an IoT device is compromised, how would we know, and how would we be able to correct it? What would you do if your smart oven suddenly started sending spam on behalf of a scammer? These are problems that could cause a lot more heartache than light bulb flickering or baby monitor hijacking.

That doesn’t even take into account the possible implications of a smart door lock or a surveillance camera being hacked. Medical equipment is another big security concern, especially if malicious code running on the device(s) results in inaccurate measurements and/or action.

So, what does this mean for us? For one, it means that the Internet of Things still has some growing to do. For all intents and purposes, IoT solutions are in their infancy and have yet to be thoroughly tested.

Back in May, we published a two-part piece on the sorry state of IoT security. From this demonstration out of Black Hat, it’s clear that we still have a ways to go before we can fully immerse ourselves in a world of connected everything.