Source: securitybrief.eu
Internet of Things connections are expected to exceed 23 billion across all major IoT markets by 2026, according to new figures from ABI Research.
The analyst firm’s Device Authentication in IoT technology analysis report reveals almost all those connections will be faced with incessant and constantly evolving cyber-threats, forcing implementers and IoT vendors to embrace new digital security options to protect managed fleets and connected assets. Secure device authentication currently stands among the top-tier investment priorities for key IoT markets.
It expects that hardware-focused IoT authentication services will reach US$8.4 billion in revenues by 2026. reach US$8.4 billion in revenues
“There are several key technologies revolving around authentication security that currently transform the IoT device value chain. Chief elements among them revolve around IoT identity issuance, provisioning, authentication, encryption key lifecycle management, access management, and attestation,” explains Dimitrios Pavlakis, industry analyst at ABI Research.
“These are the prime focus of IoT vendors who capitalise on the emerging threat horizon to better position their services and explore new IoT monetisation models,” he says.
“As it currently stands, the IoT is not a secure place for future deployments and both IoT players and digital security vendors are aware of that,” says Pavlakis.
“The good news is that the recent change in thinking has caused a noticeable mentality shift and investment surge for secure authentication technologies across the IoT ecosystem; the bad news is that this also gives rise to many IoT management offerings with questionable levels of security and intelligence.”
According to Pavlakis, IoT authentication services need to consider a plethora of variables, sharing both operational and connectivity as well as security characteristics.
“Just because cybersecurity investments need to enter deeper into the IoT deployment equation does not mean that operational variables will be left unaccounted,” he says.
“Bandwidth capacity, connectivity requirements, operational specifications, and device heterogeneity, digital footprint and processing power, edge-cloud dependencies, telemetry and intelligence are all key factors that need to be addressed to obtain a sustainable growth for the IoT going forward.”
ABI Research says many IoT security vendors are taking advantage of the recent IoT investment surge to increase their market footprint and deliver security-first authentication and management services for the IoT supported by a multitude of flexible pricing models.
According to the report, market leaders and innovative companies offering Internet of Things security services operating in different areas of the IoT value chain include Intel, Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, Entrust Datacard, Rambus, Data I/O, as well as Globalsign.
