The group agrees that the Internet of Things is here to stay at all levels. The challenge becomes risk—this is a new space, and security teams don’t know what to expect. Discussion around the IoT is constant, but companies are still working to determine what they should expect. As a result, everything is deeply interconnected and it is difficult for security teams to determine where data is being sent. It is difficult to manage or even detect a company’s vulnerabilities thanks to the IoT—some vulnerabilities may already exist in enterprises, but due to this new environment, security teams may not know about them yet.
In terms of adapting to the IoT, it is very unique to every industry. Medical fields, technology companies, government teams, and so on all have various needs, potential vulnerabilities, and experiences with the IoT. Companies must find a way to take this ambush of streamlined, interconnected technology and structure it into something tailored to their industry that they can utilize and protect securely rather than allowing it to overwhelm them.
At the end of the day, however, teams must still approach the Internet of Things with a variety of traditional security steps—data protection and secure communication, for example, are typical answers to security strategy, but are still vital when handling the IoT. In terms of best practices, the group agreed that security teams must remain diligent in learning more about the Internet of Things, understanding the nature of potential threats that will arise, and determine the movement of their data in order to remain in control in this new field.