Cyber security top concern in corporate IoT deployments

BlackBerry Limited on Tuesday announced via its latest global research whitepaper which surveyed IT decision makers on corporate IoT deployments revealed that huge opportunities are balanced against significant cyber security concerns.

Conducted by 451 Research, the whitepaper titled, "Securing the Enterprise of Things: Opportunity for securing IoT with a unified platform emerging as IoT popularity grows," highlighted the concerns flagged by respondents representing a wide range of vertical industries, including financial services, government and healthcare.

"The proliferation of IoT is being led by enterprises, and they continue to require a unified endpoint management strategy that is capable of scaling to handle billions of connected devices. We are focused on securing the EoT because for all its promise, the expanding adoption of connected things means that companies are only as secure as their most vulnerable endpoint," said Marty Beard, Chief Operating Officer, BlackBerry.

The survey revealed that 78 percent of respondents indicated interest in a solution that allows them to manage all their endpoints in one place. 63 percent noted that security is the "top" concern regarding digital technologies and processes. However, only a little over one-third (37 percent) actually have a formal digital transformation strategy in place.

Organizations are least prepared against external threats, with nearly two-thirds (61 percent) citing hackers and cyber warfare as top concerns. Thirty-nine percent of respondents from very large organizations (more than 10,000 employees) revealed that a lack of collaboration among internal departments is a potential barrier to unified endpoint management, while 51 percent of mid-sized organizations felt the same way.