As industrial companies become more connected, they also become more vulnerable to cyber attacks. Here's how industrial companies are using cybersecurity products to secure private networks, prevent unplanned downtime, and verify the data streaming from industrial sensors.
As industrial companies adopt internet of things (IoT) technologies to monitor supply chains and machinery, they are also opening themselves up to vulnerabilities in operational security — and even the biggest companies are at risk.
For example, in 2017, industrial shipping company Maersk was attacked by ransomware, threatening nearly one-fifth of the world’s shipping capacity. Meanwhile, 82% of firms in the industrials space have deployed industrial IoT (IIoT) tech without understanding the full security risk, according to research by cybersecurity company Tripwire.
With 10B IoT devices currently estimated to be connected to the internet, attack surfaces are now too broad and varied to rely solely on regulating access to a company’s network. Devices like machine health trackers, for instance, need to be monitored and secured by design to ensure that they won’t become a vector for sabotage.
But companies are looking to respond and VC firms are seeing an opportunity. For example, funding to cybersecurity startups has already far surpassed 2020’s year-end total as products emerge targeting a slew of pressing cybersecurity challenges. IoT defenses are set to get a boost from this increased activity across the cybersecurity space.
Below, we examine the trends transforming industrial IoT cybersecurity.
