Internet of things (IoT) connections are expected to boom in the next five years reaching 23.6 billion, tripling from just 8.6 billion today, according to new data from ABI Research.
While this will bring with it new profits for those involved, security issues remain a challenge and looming security gaps offer a tremendous revenue potential for players in IoT security.
"Concerns about security of the internet of things are widespread," said Michela Menting, digital security research director at ABI Research. "There are limited IoT security solutions in the market, due in large part to the fragmented nature of the IoT itself.”
These security gaps run the gamut from the inability to secure them from the OEM and vendors to choosing to accept the risk rather than remediate it as well as prioritizing availability over confidentiality.
ABI said this presents a significant opportunity for players in the IoT space with total revenue in the security space to reach $16.8 billion by 2026. The sheer number of new IoT connections in the next five years —including utilities, industrial, infrastructure and smart cities — the increased connectivity needs brought forth by the COVID-19 pandemic are all fair predictors for digital security overall.
While IoT security revenue does not always correlate with the amount of IoT connections, some markets are expected to experience disproportional revenue.
"This is due to the multi-faceted level of security and management requirements that provide the foundation for other key operations and valuable services, including for intelligence operations and analytics, life cycle management and predictive maintenance, firmware updates, and device and data integrity,” Menting said.
The full research can be found in ABI Research’s Connected & Protected: The Vulnerabilities and Opportunities of IoT Security whitepaper.
