A recent Kaspersky study on the use and challenges of IT security and data protection for the Internet of Things (IoT) shows that 58 percent of the organizations surveyed within the industry and manufacturing sector use IoT platforms for their business applications. This is a surprisingly low figure compared to other business sectors: the IT and telecommunications sector with 71 percent, the financial sector with 68 percent and the healthcare and energy sectors with 66 percent each are significantly higher,

Nevertheless, the manufacturing industry in particular should take IT security aspects in connection with IoT very seriously - especially because the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) includes critical applications at store floor level (e.g. production lines) and an increasingly smart production cycle thanks to beacon technology. Safety (physical security) and secure data access for partners and the supply chain are fundamentally important and have not yet been adequately implemented in most cases.

The new Kaspersky study "With superpower comes super responsibility: Benefits and challenges of IoT in business" shows the IoT risk potential that already exists today:

- In the first half of 2019 alone, Kaspersky's experts identified 105 million attacks on IoT devices worldwide.
- In addition, 28 percent of the organizations surveyed by Kaspersky across all industries stated that they had experienced security challenges in connection with the use of IoT platforms in 2019. In addition, networked devices and sensors transfer data in the terabyte range. This often includes critical business figures or customer data.
- 36% stated that they grant third parties access to their IOT platforms - a much higher figure than for production (23%) or ERP software (30%).

Kaspersky recommends that companies consider the following points for secure and successful IoT use:

- Before using networked devices, their security must be evaluated. Do the devices have security certificates? Is the manufacturer known for its focus on information security?
- The team responsible for IT security should have up-to-date threat intelligence. Security audits must be carried out regularly.
- An appropriate and rapid incident response requires that procedures have been put in place to ensure that knowledge of significant vulnerabilities in software and applications and available updates is always available.
- Deploy cybersecurity solutions that can analyze network traffic and detect and prevent potential attacks on IoT devices. The findings can then be incorporated into the company's entire network security system.
-Only IoT devices that are specifically designed for security should be used. The Kaspersky IoT Secure Gateway solution with KasperskyOS at its core guarantees a secure gateway and protects all connected devices and the entire IoT system. as