What is the key to protecting IoT devices at the edge of the network?

When considering topic goals in corporate networks, it’s easy to forget about IoT devices. After all, traditional network security focuses on protecting endpoints, desktop computers and laptops from cybercriminals. IoT devices are often difficult to manage, with limited vulnerability.

Still, more and more carriers are trying to simplify the process of managing devices at the edge of the network. One such provider is the IoTOps platform SecuriThingswhich today announced it has raised $21 million as part of a Series B funding round led by US Venture Partners (USVP), bringing the total funding to $39 million.

The SecuriThings IoTOps platform provides real-time visibility into IoT devices and leverages machine learning (ML) to detect and mitigate threats at the endpoint level. It also helps perform predictive maintenance and provides access to threat response capabilities as a service from a remote security operations center (SOC) team.

As a security framework, this IoTOps-based approach can centralize surveillance devices located at the edge of the network, which have historically remained opaque and difficult to manage.

Securing the edge of the network

SecuriThings’ announcement comes as IoT adoption continues to grow, with the number of global IoT connections increasing by 8% by 2021 to 12.2 billion active endpoints, with researchers expect them to increase by 18% by 2022 to a total of 14.4 billion active compounds.

“Most enterprises have hundreds to many thousands of physical security devices to properly protect their people, IP and to comply with legal and regulatory requirements,” said Roy Dagan, CEO of SecuriThings. The volume and complexity of managing all these devices is incredibly challenging.”

By leveraging IoTOps, organizations can centralize management of IoT devices and increase visibility of potential exploits and vulnerabilities at the edge of the network.

“What makes our IoTOps platform a game changer is that it empowers physical security teams across industries and organization sizes, including multiple Fortune 100 companies, to bring IT standards to all their devices,” said Dagan. “These teams are moving to the forefront of their organizations as leaders, educating about best practices for device management and operations.”

The IoT Security Market

With the adoption of IoT devices on the rise, it’s not surprising that more organizations are looking to invest in solutions to secure these new endpoints. In reality, Research indicates that the IoT security market will grow from $14.9 billion in 2021 to $40.3 billion in 2026 as more organizations seek to mitigate vulnerabilities at the network edge.

One of SecuriThings’ main competitors is Amazon Web Services (AWS) with its AWS IoT Device Defender tool. The tool is a managed service that provides remote support to organizations to verify IoT device configuration, detect abnormal activity, and enforce security policies. AWS recently announced it will generate $19.74 billion in revenue in the third quarter of 2022.

Another important player in the market is: Microsoft Azure with its Microsoft Defender for IoT tool. The tool is an agentless network detection and response (NDR) solution that integrates with Microsoft 365 Defender and Microsoft Sentinel, providing continuous vulnerability monitoring, behavioral analytics and threat intelligence.

What sets SecuriThings apart from its larger competitors at this stage is that it is not a managed service, nor is it explicitly linked to a product ecosystem. The IoTOps approach thus gives enterprises more flexibility in managing and securing their IoT environments.