By 2026, there will be 23 Billion IoT Connections, Presenting New Threat Vectors and Generating US$16 Billion in IoT Security Revenue

There are currently 8.6 billion IoT connections. By 2026, the figure is expected to nearly triple to 23.6 billion. ABI Research's latest whitepaper, Connected & Protected: The Threats and Opportunities of IoT Security, examines how the rapid increase of IoT connections will usher in a new age of connectivity and productivity, as well as a slew of new threat vectors and vulnerabilities. At the same time, the looming security gaps present a huge revenue opportunity for IoT security players.

"There is general concern about the security of the Internet of Things (IoT)," says Michela Menting, Digital Security Research Director at ABI Research. Security flaws range from systems that cannot be secured to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and vendors that often want to accept the risk rather than remediate it, as well as practical safety-type IoT devices that emphasize availability but cannot guarantee confidentiality at the same time. "There are few IoT protection options on the market, due to the fragmented nature of the IoT," Menting explains.

The sheer number of new IoT connections over the next five years, the increased digitization capabilities of specific IoT markets (e.g., utilities, industrial, infrastructure, and smart cities), the rise in connected users and assets, and the increased accessibility requirements brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic are all rational predictors of overall digital security.

However, the amount of IoT protection revenue does not necessarily correspond with the number of IoT connections, and certain markets are likely to see disproportional revenue. "This is due to the multifaceted level of security and management criteria that provide the basis for other core operations and valuable resources, such as intelligence operations and analytics, life cycle management and predictive maintenance, firmware updates, and device and data integrity," Menting explains.

"ABI Research predicts that digital security services will enter the ROI equation considerably faster in the next three years, as both security vendors and IoT players will better understand how to secure the core monetization applications associated with their IoT strategies," Menting concludes.

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