Aeris today updated a cloud service that leverages machine learning and other forms of artificial intelligence to secure internet of things (IoT) platforms connected via cellular networks.
Hari Nair, senior director of product management at Aeris, said the latest edition of the Intelligent IoT Network also adds an Intelligent Security Center to provide visibility and analytics for discovering malicious activity. Armed with those insights, Nair said, organizations can then isolate and remediate IoT platforms via the Intelligent IoT Network overlay without requiring agent software to be installed on every platform to secure it.
IoT environments are finally scaling, and that is rapidly expanding the attack surfaces organizations must defend. This is bringing to light the unique IoT security challenges organizations face. The Intelligent IoT Network provides a means to secure IoT platforms that are otherwise blind spots and a gateway through which cybercriminals can laterally spread malware across an entire enterprise, noted Nair.
Securing those extended environments requires a level of cooperation among cybersecurity, IT and operation technology (OT) professionals that can only be achieved when augmented by AI, added Nair. The average organization, however, lacks the resources required to build an overlay network to provide those capabilities on their own, said Nair.
Deployments of IoT applications are increasing as organizations launch digital business transformation initiatives that require more data to be processed and analyzed at the point where it is being created and consumed. The challenge they face is many of the platforms being used to process that data were installed years ago. As such, the ability of platforms to protect data is limited. In fact, there have already been several notable ransomware attacks launched against legacy platforms attached to a network.
Regardless of how IoT platforms are secured, it’s already apparent AI will need to play a larger role. It’s not feasible for IT professionals to physically visit an IoT platform in the field every time there is an issue. It’s not likely AI will entirely replace the need for IT professionals; however, it’s clear existing approaches to managing IoT devices will not scale as organizations begin to roll out thousands of platforms.
In the meantime, many cybersecurity professionals will once again find themselves being asked to secure platforms after they have been deployed. Rather than involving cybersecurity teams from the very beginning of a project, there is a tendency to deploy first and attempt to secure second. That approach usually results in one or more cybersecurity requirements being overlooked. Cybersecurity professionals require a means of discovering any and all IoT platforms attached to a network regardless of whether anyone in the organization informed them of their existence. After all, it’s the cybersecurity team that will be ultimately held responsible.
The proverbial IoT horse, however, is already out of the barn. The challenge, now, is finding the fastest way possible for cybersecurity teams to not only catch up but also rein in IoT platforms that, in the months ahead, are only going to further multiply.
