- Almost half of IoT-to-IT connections come from vulnerable or misconfigured high-risk devices
- Flat networks allow threats to easily spread between IoT and IT systems
- Protection requires segmentation, Zero Trust, visibility and endpoint monitoring
Almost half of all network connections (48.2%) from Internet of Things (IoT) devices to internal IT devices originate from high-risk IoT equipment, and another 4% come from critical risk components, experts have warned.
A new paper published by Palo Alto Networks based on telemetry from 27 million devices noted that nearly half of all such connections involve devices that are either vulnerable to exploitable flaws or misconfigured and thus dangerous.
These high-risk systems, apart from unpatched vulnerabilities, have weak configurations or insecure protocols that can create a broad, persistent attack surface and open direct paths for threats to spread from compromised IoT endpoints to core business systems.
How to stay safe
A single exploited IoT device can allow lateral movement within a network, leading to data theft, business disruption or greater financial loss.
The biggest risk factor here is the lack of network segmentation, it said. Most companies operate a “flat” network where IT and IoT devices coexist without isolation.
This means that once a threat actor enters the network, they can easily move from one device to another, expanding their reach and wreaking more havoc.
There are a number of things both small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and enterprises can do to protect themselves from these risks.
First, they should enforce strict network segmentation between IoT and IT systems to isolate high-risk or unmanaged devices from critical infrastructure.
Then, they should implement a Zero Trust architecture that uses least privileged access, continuous device verification, and contextual access controls.
They should also ensure they have complete device visibility, including unmanaged and BYOD assets, and apply regular vulnerability and firmware patching.
Finally, companies should implement comprehensive endpoint protection (EDR/XDR) across all managed IT assets and develop alternative monitoring for IoT endpoints that cannot run agents.
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