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Internet-of-things (IoT) has transformed how businesses operate and the manner in which we interact with technology in our day-to-day life. They create volumes of data on an unimaginable scale, while creating new areas of efficiency for the business sector. <ore organizations are increasingly using IoT devices that make use of cloud infrastructures. This does lead to companies being exposed to huge security threats that traditional approaches cannot adequately address. Cloud-native security has been one of the prime manners for securing such advanced IoT systems against evolving cyber threats.
The adoption of IoT technology has accelerated dramatically across various sectors, creating new opportunities and efficiencies. This expansion shows no sign of slowing down:
Healthcare organizations are implementing connected medical devices for remote patient monitoring and streamlined care delivery.
Manufacturing facilities are deploying smart sensors and equipment to enable predictive maintenance and optimize production flows.
Transportation systems now rely on connected vehicles and infrastructure to improve safety and traffic management.
The number of IoT devices worldwide is expected to surpass 25.4 billion by 2023. This massive growth reflects the transformative potential of IoT but also introduces significant security considerations.
The increased use of IoT devices has dramatically expanded the attack surface available to malicious actors. Each connected device represents a potential entry point for cyber attacks. As organizations connect thousands of devices with varying security capabilities, they face several critical vulnerabilities:
Many IoT devices ship with default credentials, weak authentication mechanisms, or outdated firmware.
Limited computing resources on edge devices often restrict the implementation of robust security measures.
Communication between devices and cloud environments creates multiple points of potential interception.
This expanded attack surface requires a fundamentally different approach to security - one that cloud-native architectures are uniquely positioned to address.
As with IoT devices, businesses have also moved their platforms online. Modern software applications are no longer run on a local computer but are rather run as a cloud application, available to everyone all over the world. This creates the same security risks as with IoT. This requires protection from malicious players and businesses will often use a cloud native application protection protection platform (CNAPP) for security.
Companies will often ask “what is CNAPP and how does it provide protection?” CNAPP combines various security capabilities to protect companies’ cloud native applications from cyber attacks, a form of cloud-native security protection. This entails protection for cloud applications from development to the final stage of delivery and production and provides numerous advantages.
Traditional security approaches struggle to adapt to the scale and complexity of modern IoT deployments. Cloud-native security solutions offer the scalability and flexibility required to protect constantly changing IoT environments.
IoT ecosystems generate massive volumes of data and operate in real-time environments where security incidents can quickly escalate from minor breaches to system-wide compromises. Cloud-native solutions provide the computational power and advanced analytics capabilities necessary for continuous monitoring and rapid threat response.
As IoT devices collect increasingly sensitive data - from industrial control systems to personal health information - maintaining data integrity and privacy becomes paramount. Cloud-native security frameworks incorporate encryption, access controls, and compliance mechanisms designed specifically for distributed applications.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities form the backbone of effective IoT security in cloud environments. These technologies enable:
Pattern recognition across vast datasets to identify subtle indicators of compromise.
Behavioral analysis to establish baselines and flag anomalous device activity.
Predictive capabilities that anticipate potential security issues before they appear.
The distributed nature of IoT deployments makes traditional perimeter-based security models obsolete. Zero-trust architecture represents a shift that is valuable for IoT security, operating on the principle that no device or user should be inherently trusted. In zero-trust models, every connection request is verified regardless of its origin or destination. This is suited for IoT environments where devices frequently connect from various locations and networks.
The sheer scale of IoT deployments makes manual security management impractical. Cloud-native security leverages automation to streamline critical security functions. Automation enhances IoT security through:
Continuous vulnerability scanning and patch management across distributed device fleets.
Automated policy enforcement ensuring consistent security controls.
Orchestrated incident response that can contain threats without human intervention.
These automated capabilities allow organizations to maintain robust security despite the complexity of their IoT ecosystems.
As IoT and cloud technologies continue to evolve, several trends are shaping the security in this domain. Edge computing security will become important as processing moves closer to IoT devices themselves. This shift will require new approaches to securing distributed computing resources. Blockchain are potential solutions for establishing trust and maintaining immutable records of device interactions in IoT networks.
Cloud-native security approaches provide the scalability, intelligence, and automation necessary to protect these complex environments from evolving threats. Organizations will be better positioned to protect himself from the inherent risks of IoT when using cloud-native security solutions.
