The latest report from cybersecurity company Infoblox reveals 80% of IT professionals discovered shadow IoT devices connected to their network
According to the report titled “What’s Lurking in the Shadows, a whopping 80% of IT professionals have discovered shadow IoT devices connected to their enterprise network over the past year, while 29% of professionals have found over 20 devices. This is because; increasingly, employees are getting their personal connected devices such as smartwatches, fitness trackers, and other connected gadgets to the workplace. Very often, the IT and cybersecurity team of an enterprise are not even aware that these devices are being connected to the enterprise networks. The report is based on a survey of 2,650 IT professionals across the Netherlands, the US, UK, Germany, Spain, and UAE, designed to understand the state of shadow IoT in modern enterprises.
Fighting Identity Crisis and Access Challenges amidst the IoT Boom
This report from Infoblox reveals that nearly half of the organizations (46%) have come across ‘shadow’ IoT devices on their network in 2019. Only 25% of companies did not discover IoT devices on their network at all. As per the report, 78% of organizations have over 1,000 devices connected to their corporate networks. Around 90% of IT leaders were concerned about shadow IoT devices connected to remote or branch locations of the business, found the report. To combat the security threats posed by shadow IoT devices to the network, around 89% of organizations have rolled out a security policy for personal IoT devices. According to the report, 58% of IT professionals in the Netherlands feel their security policy for personal IoT devices is beneficial. In comparison, only 34% of respondents in Spain feel it is adequate.
Digital Transformation: The Oxygen for Survival
As compared to smartphones or laptops, IoT devices do not have strict security standards. To safeguard themselves against the shadow IoT threat, the report recommends companies to make sure they are aware of the number of different devices that are connected to the network and ensure if any suspicious or unknown web traffic is identified, at the earliest. Furthermore, any IoT devices on the network should avoid using default passwords. Brad Bell, the CIO of Infoblox said although IoT devices help people live healthier lives and improve the ways businesses operate, they can also present a severe cybersecurity risk and challenge IT leaders in their efforts to protect their network.
