Less than half of firms able to detect IoT breaches, study shows

Only 48% of European firms can detect when any of their internet-connected devices have been breached, a survey shows.

In the UK, this figure drops to 42%, the second lowest in Europe after France, where only 36% of companies polled said they can detect if any of their devices making up the internet of things (IoT) suffers a breach, according to the study by digital security firm Gemalto.

The finding comes despite an increased focus on IoT security by European firms, with spending on IoT security protection up from 11% of IoT budget in 2017 to 13%. In addition, nearly all (90%) firms polled believe it is a big consideration for customers, and 14% said they see IoT security as an ethical responsibility compared with just 4% a year ago. Although 21% of UK respondents believe IoT security is an ethical responsibility and 62% feel that it is very important to have regulations in place regarding IoT security, UK spending on IoT protection is lower than the global average at still only 11% of IoT budgets.