E-Business
IOT Security Spending to Reach $1.5bn in 2018
Global IOT security spending will reach $1.5 billion in 2018, a 28% increase from 2017.
This is according to an IOT security spending report conducted by Gartner, which found that IOT security initiatives by global organisations will increase from last year’s spending of $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion this year, as organisations seek to improve IOT software and hardware security asset management initiatives.
By 2021, regulatory compliance, notes Gartner, will become the prime influencer for IOT security uptake. According to the report, IOT-based attacks are already a reality, with nearly 20% of global organisations observing at least one IOT-based attack in the past three years.
Despite the steady year-over-year growth in worldwide spending, Gartner predicts that through 2020, the biggest inhibitor to growth for IOT security will come from a lack of prioritisation and implementation of security best practices and tools in IOT initiative planning. This will hamper the potential spend on IOT security by 80%.
“In IOT initiatives, organisations often don’t have control over the source and nature of the software and hardware being utilised by smart connected devices,” says Ruggero Contu, research director at Gartner.
“We expect to see demand for tools and services aimed at improving discovery and asset management, software and hardware security assessment, and penetration testing. In addition, organisations will look to increase their understanding of the implications of externalising network connectivity.”
These factors will be the main drivers of spending growth for the forecast period with spending on IOT security expected to reach $3.1 billion in 2021.”
By 2021, Gartner predicts that regulatory compliance will become the prime influencer for IOT security uptake. Industries having to comply with regulations and guidelines aimed at improving critical infrastructure protection are being compelled to increase their focus on security as a result of IOT permeating the industrial world.
“Interest is growing in improving automation in operational processes through the deployment of intelligent connected devices, such as sensors, robots and remote connectivity, often through cloud-based services,” says Contu.
“This innovation, often described as industrial Internet of things or Industry 4.0, is already impacting on security in industry sectors deploying operational technology, such as energy, oil and gas, transportation, and manufacturing.”
Earl Perkins, research vice president at Gartner, says the biggest challenge security and risk managers will face is shifting their perception of how to manage and assess risk.
“Security managers are accustomed to taking a calculated risk on how to mitigate threats in their organisation, but the rise of IOT introduces new variables to the risk formula, variables that need to be incorporated into traditional means of assessing and calculating IT risks.
As a whole, the industry will need to acknowledge IOT’s pervasive presence and adopt new strategies that consider our digital world,” notes Perkins.
According to a 2018 Thales Data Threat Report, organisations around the world are facing increasing pressures to secure their data, driven by escalating cyber attacks, traditional insider threats, privacy requirements and data residency regulations.
“This year we found that organisations are dealing with massive change as a result of digital transformation, but this change is creating new attack surfaces and new risks that need to be offset by data security controls,” says Garrett Bekker, principal security analyst, information security for 451 Research and author of the report.
“While times have changed, security strategies have not: security spending increases that focus on the data itself are at the bottom of IT-security spending priorities, leaving customer data, financial information and intellectual property severely at risk.
If security strategies aren’t equally as dynamic in this fast-changing threat environment, the rate of breaches will continue to increase.”
Cyber security firm FireEye, predicts that the shortage of skilled workers, an increase in cloud adoption as well as IOT are some of the challenges that await the cyber security industry in 2018.
Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has launched an investigation into allegations that the confidentiality and integrity of candidates’ personal data may have been compromised by hackers.
The Commission initiated the inquiry following concerns over possible data breaches during examinations.
Preliminary findings indicate that several examination centres may not have implemented adequate technical and organizational measures to safeguard candidates’ personal information, as required under data protection regulations.
Although the incident reportedly affected 379, 997 candidates, the NDPC’s investigation is poised to cover a systemic audit of data processing and third parties.
It will be recalled that JAMB recently admitted that a technical error on its platform affected a total of 379,997 candidates in 157 examination centres across Lagos and the South-East.
Further investigation led to the arrest of at least 20 suspects who are currently in the custody of the Department of State Services and the Nigerian Police Force.
Cyber security firm, Kaspersky, has once again warned that sophisticated cybercriminals increasingly target Africa as ransomware and advanced persistent threats (APTs) escalate across the region.
Speaking at the company’s annual Cyber Security Weekend for the Middle East, Turkiye and Africa (META) region, the cybersecurity firm’s Global Research and Analysis Team highlighted growing digital threats affecting African nations.
Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa emerged as hotspots, with Kenya recording one of the highest web threat incident rates at 20.1% in first quarter 2025.
“While ransomware is less prevalent in Africa due to lower levels of digitisation and economic constraints, countries like South Africa and Nigeria are seeing a sharp rise in attacks,” said Sergey Lozhkin, head of META and APAC regions at Kaspersky.
Kaspersky noted a 0.01 percentage point increase in African ransomware cases year-on-year, reaching 0.41%, still below global and Middle Eastern averages, but a troubling sign for the continent’s emerging digital infrastructure.
Experts warned that attackers are refining their tactics, shifting focus to unconventional entry points like IoT devices, smart appliances, and misconfigured hardware.
“As these economies expand digitally, sectors such as manufacturing, finance and government are becoming key targets,” said Lozhkin
The cyber-crime landscape is evolving quickly, fuelled by AI tools and dark web access to large language models, which enable less skilled actors to launch convincing phishing and malware campaigns.
Groups like FunkSec, which uses AI-generated code and a low-cost ransom model, are redefining ransomware operations.
“African organisations face the dual challenge of expanding digital footprints and limited cybersecurity awareness. This makes layered defense strategies, including network segmentation, real-time monitoring and regular staff training, essential,” stated Lozhkin
Kaspersky continues to monitor 25 active APT groups in the META region, including SideWinder and MuddyWater, some of which are known to target African institutions.
To bolster defenses, the firm recommends using tools such as its free Anti-Ransomware Tool for Business and the Kaspersky Next suite for threat visibility and response.
Nigeria recently launched a new joint case team to step up its response to cybercrimes that affect people and businesses at home and abroad.
The ‘Joint Case Team on Cybercrime’ brings together Nigeria’s key justice and security agencies to work as one, making it easier to detect, investigate, and prosecute digital offences.
It is supported by the UK National Crime Agency, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and the Commonwealth Secretariat, as part of a wider effort to promote international cooperation on cybercrime.
Speaking at the launch in Abuja, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, minister of justice and attorney general of the federation described the initiative as “a bold and transformative stride in Nigeria’s justice system.”
He said that although Nigeria has a national legal framework to address cyber offences, laws alone are not enough.
Nigeria is among the countries most affected by cybercrime around the world, with increasing financial losses.
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