If you’ve ever had your bike stolen, you probably spent some time afterward kicking yourself for not taking better precautions like safer placement, a stronger chain or a better lock. When it comes to the Internet of Things (IoT), so much more can be lost—it could be your business.
In response to the growth of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and its inevitable issues with security, the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) published a white paper entitled, IIC IoT Security Maturity Model: Description and Intended Use. The Security Maturity Model (SMM) white paper aims to inform industrial organizations of the options they have when deciding on security practices and mechanisms relevant to their IoT applications. The model evaluates a company’s security maturity by considering its security goals, objectives and risks.
IIC’s mission is to deliver a secure and accelerated IIoT to the world and its connected systems—this white paper is a necessary tool in achieving that. The organization previously released the Industrial Internet Security Framework (IISF), a detailed cross-industry security framework. The SMM expands on the IISF model with a more pragmatic approach.
With the help of the SMM, companies now have a standardized procedure for setting up a security model tailored to them. The first step is to state the company’s current security goals, objectives and risks. With this information, technical teams or third-party assessment vendors can gauge a security maturity level for the company. The company can then set a security maturity target, customizing it according to their specific industry and IIoT applications, and compare their results with the current security maturity state of the system. Companies can then keep their IoT applications in check, regularly adapting and optimizing security as they gather more data.
Another essential document to expect is the IIC Security Maturity Model: Practitioners Guide. The IIC will officially publish this companion to the SMM within the year. It outlines the security assessment and enhancement process from a more technical angle.
If you want to protect your business from a security breached, consider reading the SMM white paper here.