IoT security forecast to become a 1.5 billion dollar market

We recently showed that security should enjoy a high status in the context of IoT, but this is often not the case. IoT devices are frequently without any protection.

Even if they are quite uninteresting for attack scenarios such as ransomware, the security issues in connection with smart devices remain an explosive topic. The devices are relatively easy to manipulate so that users can be spied on.

Two of the biggest challenges in 2018 will be protecting against unauthorized access, and patching/updating the software of the device. Companies must not neglect the security problems of IoT and IIoT devices (Industrial Internet of Things) in their data protection concepts.

Some numbers from Gartner

So how big is the IoT security market really? According to Gartner's market researchers, global spending on IoT security will increase to $1.5 billion this year. By 2021, compliance is to become the most important factor influencing the growth of IoT security.

Cyber attacks on the Internet of Things (IoT) are already a reality: According to a new study by CEB, now part of Gartner, almost 20% of the companies surveyed have observed at least one IoT-based attack in the past three years.

Gartner predicts that global spending on IoT security will amount to $1.5 billion in 2018. This would mean a growth of 28% compared to 2017 ($1.2 billion).

302 million dollars were spent on Endpoint Security in 2017. Market researchers expect market expenditure of 373 million dollars for the current year and 631 million dollars for 2021. Expenditures for Gateway Security in 2017 were $138 million.

This year, the figure is expected to reach 186 and 415 million US dollars by 2021. Professional services account for the largest share of IoT security expenditure. By 2017, for example, 734 million US dollars had already been spent.

Market researchers at Gartner expect to spend 946 million US dollars in 2018 and as much as 2.071 billion US dollars in 2021.

We keep you informed

The positive potential IoT devices offer for personal, commercial and social applications is extremely high. We have already reported on some cases in detail (for example in the context of Smart Cities, Sigfox, or Smart Office).

New industries will emerge and others will improve. However, if companies neglect IoT security and do not address it effectively, IoT will remain a  risk to data and privacy.

OEMs and their development teams should generally implement a simple first line of defence for IoT security by scanning and closing potential firmware vulnerabilities. And appropriate investments must continue to be made to avoid different risk scenarios.