On our sister cites like MSP Today and Cloud Computing, the ever-important topic of cybersecurity gets a ton of coverage, and rightly so.
However, with great Industrial IoT developments come great cybersecurity responsibilities, too.
(Now I’m just imagining that quote said by Ben Parker to his nephew Peter in Spider-Man, but they both casually work in IT or something.)
I digress. Despite lightheartedness like that, secure operations is a serious must for developers of IIoT technologies.
In this vein, we have the concept of zero trust – i.e. the assumption that no device, user, or location can be inherently trusted and, as a result, is subject to verification. Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) practices demand that every interaction must be consistently verified and authorized before the request for access is ultimately granted. IIoT is by no means exempt here; interconnected “of Things” systems often revolve around a massive number of devices, SIM cards (plus eSIMs/iSIMs) and large machines with varying levels of requisite security. Examples include factories with tens of thousands of intercommunicating sensors that lend data-driven insights for operators, as well as consumer-facing IIoT solutions with smart features that prove susceptible to breaches enacted by bad actors.
Thus, a stringent zero trust approach ensures that only authorized devices can access critical data, endpoints and functions, even if potential attackers manage to sneak onto a network. Minimizing potential damage – even a single compromised device being hacked – should be a no-brainer, regardless of one’s specific profession of industry.
Enter Xage (pronounced zay-ghe, like “page”), a provider of zero trust access and protection solutions for what it calls “every application, workload, and device in your life.” Xage specialists stop attacks and prevent insider threats with granular segmentation and privileged access enforcement (powered by zero trust), and the provider’s all-in-one unified platform keeps things simple when it comes to deployment and use. Protecting workloads, enforcing MFA, SSO and other credential protections, enabling remote access, making privilege management and revocation simpler, blocking lateral movement and target discovery with M2M-based controls and much more – these represent the value prop behind Xage’s ongoing mission.
And last week, Xage released promising findings from its research into the continued growth of zero trust solutions that protect IT and OT environments.
In its State of Zero Trust in the Industrial Enterprise Report, Xage revealed that it partnered with Takepoint Research to survey hundreds of senior cybersecurity leaders across IIoT infrastructure and manufacturing sectors to analyze the status and active trajectory of impactful zero trust security implementations.
Thankfully, the results show gains in traction. Rest Ben Parker’s soul, with great IIoT power indeed comes great zero trust solutions, it would seem.
Here’s a breakdown:
- 72% of organizations have started adopting zero trust principles, with 38% having established, implemented, and optimized their unique zero trust control measures.
- 78% of organizations have expressed concerns (both medium and significant concern, in nature) about data-sharing practices. Ensuring data security and protection against unauthorized access and tampering has reportedly quelled the foremost worries for 55% of Xage’s respondents.
- Respondents' main three challenges related to securing their IIoT environments are integration (77%), protecting against ransomware threats (76%), and modernizing remote access (55%).
Per Sri Sundaralingam, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Xage:
“Amidst market confusion surrounding various zero trust strategies, it is evident that organizations are now diligently navigating through them and honing their approaches. The survey results underscore the increasing adoption of zero trust across industrial sectors, aimed at mitigating crucial business risks while propelling digital transformation alongside new business initiatives.”
Read here to learn more about the industries that Xage serves.
Edited by
Greg Tavarez
