Defending Enterprise Networks From Shadow IoT

In the era of remote working, one of the biggest security concerns for network security professionals is shadow IoT, the use of unauthorized connected devices or sensors in active use within an organization without the IT team’s knowledge. These devices can be any number of connected technologies – laptops, mobile phones, tablets, fitness trackers, smart home gadgets like voice assistants, etc. – that are managed outside of an IT department’s purview.

As workforces evolve to include more remote locations and branch offices, and enterprises continue to go through digital transformations, partners need to focus on providing solutions that can protect their customers’ cloud-hosted services the same way they protect main-office, on-premises systems. If not, enterprise IT teams will be left in the dark and won’t have visibility into what’s lurking on their networks.

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Learn From Experts
Infoblox has commissioned a new Shadow IoT Report to help enterprises gain a better understanding of the challenges that IT teams face in securely managing shadow IoT devices across enterprise networks. Download the report to get the latest research and recommendations on how to best manage threats posed by shadow IoT devices.
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Cybersecurity Risks of Shadow IoT
Shadow IoT devices are becoming increasingly problematic for organizations. Some 40 billion IoT devices are expected to be connected to the Internet in the next five years, with 50 billion coming online by 2030. These devices are often built with limited cybersecurity controls, and some have no security measures whatsoever. Also, they’re frequently set up using default IDs and passwords that criminals can easily find, and added to an organization’s main Wi-Fi networks without the IT team’s knowledge.

IT can’t control or secure devices they can’t see on the network. That’s why “smart” devices can be such easy targets for cybercriminals.

Over the past 12 months, a staggering 80% of IT leaders discovered shadow IoT devices on their networks. Nearly one-third (29%) of organizations found more than 20, with some seeing up to 50.

So, with billions of new IoT devices expected to connect to the Internet over the next few years, how can IT teams mitigate this threat?

How to Mitigate Shadow IoT Threats
Fortunately, protecting against shadow IoT threats is possible when organizations make cybersecurity and visibility the foundation of their network and business strategies.

Rethinking the approach to network security to include robust security policies for personal devices, ensure full visibility over the network, and use intelligent systems to detect and halt anomalous and potentially malicious communications will ensure organizations are always one step ahead of the threat posed by shadow IoT.

In a career spanning more than 20 years, Dr. Malcolm Murphy, director of technology sales at Infoblox, has witnessed first-hand the evolution of the Internet from academic collaboration tool to the must-have utility we all take for granted today. He started his career building network and security infrastructure for one of the United Kingdom’s largest ISPs before working for a number of networking and security technology companies, and developed a proof-of-concept mechanism for using DNS as a covert communications channel in the late 1990s. Murphy has held a number of technology and sales leadership roles at Infoblox, working with enterprises and service providers to help improve the security and robustness of their cloud, network, and data center operations.