Project: Building a Resilient IoT Service

Investment in the Internet of Things continues to grow as businesses become increasingly reliant on IoT platforms and applications to deliver better operational outcomes and customer experience. IoT architectures need to be built with security front and centre of the design discussion.

Challenge

Our client is in the process of repositioning its IoT platform and business model to meet future customer requirements which are being driven by an increasing focus on data privacy, sovereignty, and the fast-evolving requirement for processing data at the edge. The challenge for our client was to establish what are the data security investment priorities at the device, edge, cloud platform, and application level, and what does best-practice look like?

Solution

WA ran a competitive benchmarking exercise to assess where peers and partners are prioritising investment, and to provide deep insight into security architectures and processes. The WA team focused on evaluating how device trust is achieved, how edge services can be delivered securely, and how data is protected in the cloud. The evaluation considered protection of data at-rest, in-transit, and in-use, and back-up and disaster recovery business models to ensure high availability. WA evaluated a significant amount of open-source technical documentation and consulted widely with our networks to gain perspectives on how different IoT platform vendors secure their IoT service solution.

Outcome

WA was able to deliver a comprehensive technical report that provided our client with both insight and guidance on where to focus security investment. This included a set of recommended priorities for addressing data localisation and sovereignty requirements, how to onboard and review 3rd party application developers on the platform, a guide to industry best practice by security technology, and an evaluation of what the industry baseline security requirements are. The insights generated new perspectives on how our client should approach IoT platform cybersecurity and enabled them to align internally on what are the key product and business model investment priorities.

IoT platforms reviewed

Months of work

Recommendations

Utilised services

Service

Competitors

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Service

Plan

Bridge the gap between your current position and aspirations. WA translates ambitious visions into actionable steps, aligning budgeting, resources and KPIs for strategic success in the security industry.

Insights

Expert deep dives into the world of security from industry leaders

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Investment in OT Cybersecurity has grown significantly over the last decade, resulting in leading asset owners significantly improving their cybersecurity posture. Nevertheless, more is required to balance the benefits of digitalisation with the cyber risk. Westlands Advisory’s research into trends impacting cybersecurity posture concludes that growing digitalisation and security incidents are not currently being matched by investment in cybersecurity. Furthermore, the research highlights that regulation to 2023 has had a low impact on improving the OT cybersecurity posture across most process and manufacturing industries.

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Cyber Threats in 2024: Key Insights for Risk Leaders and Boardrooms

As cyber threats evolve and intensify, organisations are increasingly exposed to new risks. Staying on top of the intelligence reporting is a challenge. This report is intended for executives that do not have the time, nor the need, to read over 20 cyber threat intelligence reports. WA has done that for you and summarised the key actions.

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Strong and Sustainable Foundations: Develop a security program for smart buildings based on asset visibility

Regulation related to sustainability and a focus on reducing energy costs is driving increased investment in the digital transformation of buildings and a focus on cybersecurity. Although demand for buildings OT cybersecurity is increasing, it is starting from a low base, highlighting the industry's current underdeveloped cybersecurity maturity and the growing recognition of the need to address vulnerabilities. The journey to improved resilience is not straightforward but building owners can take modular steps and this starts with identifying assets and understanding risk.