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

When considering topic targets in enterprise networks, it’s easy to forget 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. 

Yet, an increasing number of providers are trying to simplify the process of managing devices at the network’s edge. One such provider is IoTOps platform SecuriThings, which today announced it has raised $21 million as part of a series B funding round led by U.S. Venture Partners (USVP), bringing its total funding raised to $39 million. 

SecuriThings IoTOps platform provides real-time visibility over IoT devices, leveraging machine learning (ML) to detect and mitigate threats at the endpoint level. It also helps to conduct 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 monitoring devices located at the network’s edge, which have traditionally remained opaque and difficult to manage. 

Securing the network’s edge 

SecuriThings’ announcement comes as IoT adoption continues to grow, with the number of global IoT connections increased by 8% in 2021 to 12.2 billion active endpoints, with researchers expecting they will increase by 18% to a total of 14.4 billion active connections in 2022. 

“Most enterprises have hundreds to many thousands of physical security devices to protect their people, properly and IP, as well as 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 turning to IoTOps, organizations can centralize the management of IoT devices and enhance the visibility of potential exploits and vulnerabilities at the network’s edge.

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

The IoT security market 

With the adoption of IoT devices increasing, it’s unsurprising that more organizations are looking to invest in solutions to secure these new endpoints. In fact, research indicates that the IoT security market will grow from $14.9 billion in 2021 to $40.3 billion by 2026, as more organizations attempt to mitigate vulnerabilities at the network’s edge. 

One of the most significant competitors to SecuriThings is Amazon Web Services (AWS) with its AWS IoT Device Defender tool. The tool is a managed service that provides organizations with external support to audit the configuration of IoT devices, detect abnormal activity and deploy security policies. AWS recently announced generating $19.74 billion in revenue in the third quarter of 2022. 

Another key 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, and provides continuous monitoring of vulnerabilities, with behavioral analytics and threat intelligence. 

At this stage, what separates SecuriThings from its larger competitors is that it is neither a managed service nor explicitly tied to a product ecosystem. So, its IoTOps approach gives enterprises more flexibility in how they manage and secure their IoT environments.