The Information Security Forum (ISF) announced the release of Securing the IoT: Taming the Connected World,  a report that helps security professionals better understand the security implications of the Internet of Things (IoT).

According to the Information Security Forum (ISF), the IoT has exploded into the connected world, promising the enablement of the digital organization and making domestic life richer and easier. "However, with those promises come inevitable risks including the rush to adoption, which has highlighted serious deficiencies in both the security design of IoT devices and their implementation. Coupled with increasing governmental concerns around the societal, commercial and critical infrastructure impacts of this technology, the emerging world of the IoT has attracted significant attention," says a press release. 

Based on external and ISF member research, and supplemented by a short series of special interest group meetings held in Finland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, the research explores:

• Definitions of the IoT
• Technical characteristics 
• Fundamental security issues
• Emerging security practice 
• Legal and regulatory landscapes

“The IoT has become a reality and is already embedded in industrial and consumer environments. It will further develop and become an essential component of not just modern life, but critical services,” said Steve Durbin, Managing Director, ISF. “Still, at the moment, it is inherently vulnerable, often neglects fundamental security principles and is a tempting attack target. This needs to change.”

“The IoT can be broken down into consumer-orientated products and industrial-orientated products; however, ISF member organizations can face risks from both these aspects of the IoT as it enters the workplace by design and also by stealth,” continued Durbin. “It’s important that information security functions take a proactive approach to this potentially poorly secured world and ensure that the IoT does not represent a weak spot in organizational defenses. Enterprises with the appropriate expertise, leadership, policy and strategy in place will be agile enough to respond to the inevitable security lapses. Those who do not closely monitor the continued growth of the IoT may find themselves on the outside looking in.”

For more information, visit ISF.