IoT devices (Internet of things) are growing and managing the risk associated with IOT devices are also increasing. Organizations now have rising concerns on managing risk arising out of IoT devices mostly privacy issue and infosec, considering IoT devices are the ones interacting most and easy target of hackers. Many organizations carry the weight of legacy devices with no security design inbuilt and these devices are soft targets too.

Robotic IoT Devices are Hackers Den as Data Leaks Incidents on Rise

Last few years the arrival of robotic in IOT device are posing serious security challeneges. Example a simple robot vacuum cleaner have become increasingly popular smart-home devices.

But here is the click, as connectivity and sensors of Robotic IoT devices introduces new security concerns like modern robot vacuums map your homes with lasers or cameras and connect to cloud services. This often raises issues around data privacy and being prone to hacking vulnerabilities.

An MIT Technology Review investigation revealed that development versions of Roomba vacuums had taken internal test photos — including a private image of a woman on the toilet — which later ended up on social media (Gathering dust and data: How robotic vacuums can spy on you – Why Robot Vacuums Have Cameras (and What to Know About Them)). iRobot explained that these units were given to paid beta testers who consented to being recorded, and that the images were used internally to train AI object recognition.

However, when the photos were uploaded to a data annotation platform, and some contractors leaked the images in private Facebook groups. This incident, albeit involving non‑commercial test units, showed how visual data collected by vacuums can slip out of control, alarming consumers.

Why IOT Devices Need to be Secured ?

• The biggest financial and physical risks associated with IoT devices, now comes from targeted ransomware campaigns as per reports. These attacks are against critical infrastructure and sophisticated supply chain that can be compromised by embedding threats into devices before deployment. as per Honeywell research.
• As per research 6% Increase in Ransomware Attacks happened in Q1 of 2025 and ransomware groups are increasingly targeting industrial environments to maximize financial leverage and cause severe operational disruption. 
• Other research carried out that has effect on revenue is any successful attacks on manufacturing sites like water utilities or any other manufacturing unit may lead to operational shutdowns or stoppage. These kind of attack has a direct pr immediate impact on revenue.

The above research points give a clear picture why IoT devices needs to be secured. The global count of connected devices projected to surpass 35.2 billion in 2025 and cybercriminals are exploiting a expanding vulnerable IoT based attack surface with efficiency.

IoT Hacking incidents on Rise in 2025

In 2025, the ecosystem weathers an average of 820,000 hacking attempts every day, a 46% increase from the previous year. This translates to a constant, automated hum of malicious activity that creates a state of continuous compromise for any internet facing device.

In the first quarter of 2025 alone, Kaspersky’s security solutions blocked over 629 million attacks originating from online resources, demonstrating the scale of the infrastructure used to find and exploit vulnerable IoT endpoints.

The threat is not confined to enterprise networks; even the average home network now faces approximately 10 distinct attack attempts every 24 hours. Threat intelligence from Fortinet’s 2025 Global Threat Landscape Report reveals a 16.7% worldwide rise in active scanning, as adversaries deploy automated tools to create a near real time map of the internet’s attack surface. 

What are IoT Security Risk

IoT security risks may arise from many technical vulnerabilities including devices connected to hardware, software and network communications.

These include things like poor or weak authentication methods mostly in an old version of firmware being used or even exposing unnecessary network services.

Vulnerable devices are always easy to exploit through default passwords, open ports or those lacking timely software security updates forming entry point for attackers.

The IoT devices are varied in nature so are attacks distributed in terms of deployments that makes security monitoring and updates more challenging in many ways from tracking them remote locations or legacy devices etc.

Any attack on hardware such as rootkits via physical access to devices, supply chain tampering, and bootloader exploits are also significant security concerns. Many IoT devices have limited computational resources or non at all and any implementation with strong security protections at times never happens.

Lastly at times manufacturers take days to roll out security patches, and any vulnerabilities in older software attract attackers to gain access or control over them.. This makes devices prone to repeated attacks.

IoT devices are part of an interlinked network, data gathered by one device might spread across platforms and be disclosed to third parties, including manufacturers and advertisers. This privacy risk discourages many people from using the Internet of Things.

IoT security is now a board-level concern

Industrial IoT (IIoT) devices have been targeted to halt operations, compromise physical safety, and extort organizations with ransomware. The escalating cost of IoT & OT breaches is creating powerful after effects that is reshaping cybersecurity investment across the world. On the other hand these IoT related security incidents are creating regulatory pressure and compelling organizations to adopt stronger security controls.

This strategic move is merely not for cyber protection, but as a non-negotiable cost of doing business. Incase any liability cost is incurred securing with coverage related to incident will be priority and business resilience.

Since board level concern is rising, how to secure IoT devices in right manner, manufacturers should design devices with capability to receive updates.

For both current and future security needs managing IoT security is a challenge for organizations and scope of building strong foundational security is also there .

This may involve including more robust computational resources or designing modular systems that can be physically updated. For that more funding approval at board level is being taken up by cyber leaders as it is becomes crucial to deliver not only timely updates but involving more robust computational resources that can be physically updated

Mapping IoT with Existing Frameworks The Compliance & Regulatory requirements

• NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF): Calls for continuous monitoring, risk assessment, and access control that extend to IoT endpoints.
• ISO/IEC 27001: Requires secure configuration and risk management processes, which directly apply to IoT devices.
• HIPAA: Connected medical devices transmitting patient data fall under protected health information (PHI) safeguards.
• PCI DSS: Any IoT device handling or transmitting cardholder data must follow strict encryption and access controls. 

Lets see how 2026 unfolds itself as security analyst’s already warned of IoT related risk, as any devices connected to the Internet will pose a risk to society. Since then, numerous large-scale attacks have been publicized, in which attackers compromised IoT devices and created a real threat to public safety and corporate security.

Conclusion : Educating consumers about the importance of security in IoT devices and ensuring their devices are secure will play a crucial role in enhancing the overall security posture of IoT ecosystems.

Once the very foundation of cyber security and managing IoT related risks are in place, IT teams can strengthen client resilience with advanced security measures.

Sources: IoT Hacking Statistics 2025: Threats, Risks & Regulations

Source: https://www.connectwise.com