The problems with trying to protect IoT in a multicloud environment

A study from Juniper Networks has found that many Internet of Things (IoT) application workloads are running in a multicloud environment, with 29% of respondents implementing IoT application workloads in two or more clouds.

While the practice enables a high level of connectivity and flexibility, it also exposes organisations to security vulnerabilities around compliance, lack of integration between disparate security systems and a shortage of qualified cybersecurity workers. 

Source: Juniper Networks. Infographic on IoT security, based on research by Juniper and the IoT Institute.

In a blog post about the research findings, Laurence Pitt, Global Security Strategy Director, Juniper Networks said that protecting business assets, data and IoT ecosystems must start with the network, expanding beyond the idea of simply defending a perimeter.

"Fifty-one percent of survey respondents reported that they run their IoT application workloads in their private data or control centres, while 36% maintained deployments at the network edge and the remainder run their workloads in a public cloud. Moreover, 26% reported that they use a combination of the above. This expands and distorts any notion of perimeter-based security," Pitt explained in the blog post.

Instead, Pitt suggests that "visibility and protection must be embedded into the network fabric to enable real-time monitoring, detection and remediation and prevent cybercriminals from compromising valuable business information."

A zero-trust model that does not rely solely on human abilities to prioritise and correlate threat intelligence is ideal, Pitt said, but will require people with the right skills to implement it.
"In the long term, education in automation will be critical to solving this problem and ultimately enhancing how IoT applications run in a multicloud environment," he said.
"Until the gap can be closed, network equipment and security solutions with built-in automation and seamless integration are key to avoid the hassle of implementing a separate automation layer."