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Cybersecurity in the IoT era: protecting increasingly distributed systems

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Introduction

The Internet of Things is rapidly expanding the digital perimeter of companies.

But more devices means more vulnerabilities.

In Italy, more than 50 million IoT devices are already active, with steady growth and a significant increase in cyber risks.

The point is no longer to connect systems.
The point is to protecting them in a continuous and structured way.

The context: what’s going on

The spread of IoT is transforming several industries:

  • Manufacturing
  • Healthcare
  • Smart cities

But this growth brings with it increased risks:

  • Increasingly frequent and sophisticated attacks
  • Increased exposure of infrastructure
  • Growing complexity of ecosystems

The cost of IoT attacks in Italy reached €1.7 billion in 2023.

Where problems arise

The main critical issues are structural:

  • Extended attack surface
    millions of connected devices
  • Legacy systems integrated with IoT
    introduction of new vulnerabilities
  • Complex ecosystems
    Multiple vendors, platforms, and protocols
  • Compliance and governance
    need for continuous monitoring of data

More than 60 percent of IoT devices do not have adequate security standards.

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Where you are investing

Companies are focusing investments on:

  • Endpoint protection
  • Segmentation of networks
  • ReAI-based threat detection
  • Zero Trust architectures

More and more organizations are also adopting:

  • Continuous monitoring systems
  • Proactive security models
  • Integrated governance framework
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What really works

The most effective strategies take a systems approach:

  • Security designed at the architecture level
  • Continuous threat monitoring
  • Integration between security and operations
  • Centralized governance management

In summary: security is not a layer; it is part of the system.

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Abacus approach

Abacus addresses IoT security as a component of infrastructure.

Key areas:

  • Risk assessment
    vulnerability identification
  • Security architecture
    robust solution design
  • Continuous monitoring
    proactive threat detection
  • Compliance and governance
    Alignment with GDPR and regulations
  • Incident response
    rapid vulnerability management

Expected Results.

A structured approach to IoT cybersecurity enables:

  • Reducing the risk of attacks
  • Increased operational resilience
  • Data and infrastructure protection
  • Increased customer and stakeholder trust
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Case Study

Background
Organizations with complex and distributed IoT ecosystems

Challenge
Protect devices, data and infrastructure in heterogeneous environments

Solution

  • network segmentation
  • continuous monitoring
  • AI-driven sensing systems
  • Zero Trust framework

Results

  • reduction of vulnerabilities
  • greater operational control
  • improvement of overall safety

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