Top IoT Security Challenges and How to Overcome Them 

It is estimated that there could be over 22 billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices connected to the internet.

Be that in a range of internet-connected home appliances ranging from smart camera surveillance system to IoT connected fridge, the sensors monitoring safety and output in an industrial manufacturing plant, or anything in between, IoT has increasingly proliferated in our homes and workplaces. That growth is only expected to continue.

While IoT was once a novel concept, now a range of products are equipped with internet-connected devices and sensors by default.

There are a range of reasons for this. For consumers, IoT devices help them to easily and efficiently manage everyday tasks. For businesses, it enables them to collect data about how their products are used, alongside data about the customer.

In an industrial environment, IoT sensors can help monitor the state of equipment, alerting maintenance teams to the need for repairs, before it becomes an issue. Meanwhile, a home user can control their lighting or heating at the touch of a button via a smartphone app.

However, when IoT devices are connected to a network without appropriate cybersecurity practices applied they can become an attacker’s entry point. 

There is a history of IoT manufacturers, especially those who look to produce cheaper alternatives to well-known brands, rushing out devices without appropriate cybersecurity considerations.

In 2025, the FBI urged smart home users to look out for indicators of compromise in their connected devices after releasing a security alert about the Badbox 2.0 botnet malware.

Even when IoT devices are developed with care to standards associated with Secure by Design features encouraged by government legislation, this doesn’t guarantee security issues won’t be uncovered. As with any software, new zero-day vulnerabilities can affect IoT devices.

Vulnerabilities have in the past resulted in massive data breaches, the ability for attackers to manipulate or control devices, and even use them as an entry point to the rest of the network.

There are several issues which can all make securing IoT devices difficult. 

Sometimes devices can be developed with cybersecurity issues due to a lack of knowledge from the manufacturer.

An electric toothbrush manufacturer that expands its product line to include an IoT‑connected toothbrush may lack experience in building internet‑connected products.

That means they may simply be unaware of the additional security issues which need to be considered, so release the product without security in mind, without knowing that it could leave users vulnerable to cyber threats.

In many cases, IoT devices can be difficult to apply software updates to.

Many organisations are already slow to apply patches and updates to their laptop operating systems or commonly used applications and software. This remains a challenge, and applying security patches to IoT devices is even more so.

For example, in a manufacturing environment, if IoT sensor has been installed to help monitor hardware, taking it offline to install an update is difficult.

Software updates for IoT devices often involve taking it offline, which means for the time it takes to download and install, the IoT sensor isn’t performing the task it’s supposed to.

That problem is exacerbated if the update can’t be applied when the hardware it is monitoring is active. Unfortunately, given that many industrial environments - or medical environments – operate 24 hours a day and seven days a week, there may simply not be a suitable window to take the whole system offline to apply the security update.

That potentially leaves the IoT sensors vulnerable to cyber threats, especially if a security update has been released in response to known malicious activity.

In both enterprise and home environments, devices such as IoT‑controlled office lighting systems or sensors used to monitor a home’s water supply are often forgotten once installed.

Even if it isn’t forgotten about, applying patches to IoT products – or even just resetting the default login credentials – can often be unintuitive to those aren’t tech savvy, so the update may not be applied.

That risks a malicious attacker abusing it as a point of entry to the network – and that’s especially the case if IoT devices sit on the same network as the rest of the IT stack. It’s an issue which can be offset by segmenting the network, but in many cases, this won’t approach is not applied.

There is also a problem of IoT devices becoming obsolete but still in use. There are companies which built and sold IoT devices of various kinds but since ceased operations.

The internet-connected devices such firms have released will therefore no longer be supported by the company. That means if a security issue is uncovered, it simply won’t be fixed, potentially leaving users vulnerable to cyber threats if that device is active in their network.

There is also another potential risk around unsupported devices: companies may simply choose not to patch a vulnerability which has been uncovered. This isn’t a theoretical concept; there are numerous examples of IoT product manufacturers who simply stop paying attention to support once the device is rolled out.

It’s unfortunate, but it represents another reason why organisations and individuals should only invest in IoT devices from repeatable, trustworthy companies, rather than cheap alternatives.

There are, however, actions which can be taken by individuals and organisations to help ensure that any IoT devices on the network are as secure as possible. These include:

• Check with the manufacturer to see how long the specific device will be supported
• If the device comes with a default password, change it
• If remote access to the device isn’t required, remove remote access functionality
• If there’s an option to ensure updates are applied automatically, make sure it’s applied
• Secure IoT environments by placing devices on dedicated, segmented networks that restrict access to only the systems and services they need, preventing compromise from spreading to the wider IT environment
• Ensure your business has visibility of IoT devices on the network and create an asset inventory
• Continuous monitoring helps identify unusual device behaviour that may indicate compromise

As IoT adoption accelerates, so does the cyber risk it introduces. Insecure, poorly managed devices expand the attack surface, often without the oversight applied to traditional IT assets. Without strong governance, visibility, and security‑by‑design principles, IoT can become an entry point for wider compromise. For security leaders, IoT security is no longer optional, it is a fundamental component of enterprise cyber risk management.

ADVERTISEMENT

Enjoyed this article? Make sure to share it!

Looking for something else?