Portnox launches first cloud-native IoT security solution

Portnox, a specialist in cloud-native, zero trust access and endpoint security solutions, has announced the general availability of the first cloud-native IoT security solution to help mid-market and enterprise businesses address rising Internet of Things (IoT) security threats.

Now available via the Portnox Cloud, Portnox's new IoT fingerprinting and profiling capabilities empower organisations to identify, authenticate, authorise, and segment IoT devices across their network to ensure an effective zero trust security posture.

Denny LeCompte, CEO of Portnox, says, "No organisation is immune to the inherent and increasing number of security risks IoT devices pose as they are more susceptible to vulnerabilities and, therefore, prime targets for cyber attacks.

"Companies of all sizes must properly secure these devices to prevent them from serving as a gateway onto the corporate network by cyber criminals. But as networks become more complex and distributed, and as the number of IoT devices continues to grow, it's becoming more and more difficult to identify and control access for these devices across a given network, let alone secure them.

"As we bring our vision of simplifying access control and endpoint security for mid-market IT teams to fruition, adding a solution for IoT fingerprinting to our cloud-native platform was the natural next step. Portnox now gives customers full visibility of IoT devices in use across their respective networks."

Juniper Research predicts that the total number of IoT connections will surge to 83 billion by 2024, while Ponemon Institute found that most (94%) organisations think that a security incident related to unsecured IoT devices or applications could be catastrophic.

Furthermore, large enterprises are not alone when it comes to rising IoT security headaches organisations of all sizes are actively trying to strengthen their security postures to account for the surge of threats tied to the rising operational dependence on IoT.

With so many IoT devices printers, cameras, thermostats, sensors, monitors, etc. now in use across all types of organisations, the ability to automatically onboard and enforce IoT device authentication, control and security policies across the network is mission critical, Portnox states.

Portnox solutions are purpose-built to be easy-to-use, scale, and manage. With the addition of IoT fingerprinting and profiling to the Portnox Cloud, Portnox customers can now utilise enhanced confidence in the security posture of their network with respect to IoT without the cost and resource demands associated with traditional on-premise IoT security solutions that can often be complex to configure, deploy, and maintain.

With the latest solution expansion, the Portnox Cloud now provides organisations with:

• Complete device visibility and access policy enforcement across the network for all major device groupsIoT, bring your own device (BYOD) and managed devices
• Enhanced IoT fingerprinting and profiling accuracy powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning
• Strengthened organisational zero trust security postures, accounting for all devices and access layers on-site and remote

According to the company, this technology will unlock a number of additional capabilities, such as automatic policy mapping based on fingerprints and leveraging fingerprinting data to thwart potential MAC Address spoofing risks.

Portnox customers can also use fingerprinting information to provide EoL/EoS dates, as well as list potential security vulnerabilities on the endpoint to augment network access and remediation policies.

Portnox continues to rapidly expand its zero trust security offerings across the Portnox Cloud. The company is currently exploring new ways to add agentless risk assessment policy enforcement, as well as data capture options to increase IoT fingerprinting access and automate micro-segmentation and quarantining for IoT devices in future iterations of the solution.

Portnox, Vice President of Product Management Jeremy Morrill, says, "Providing intelligent insight and visibility into IoT devices connecting to a business's network with absolutely zero on-prem footprint required is absolutely unprecedented.

"From somewhat basic IP phones, security cameras, printers, TVs and streaming appliances, to complex medical devices and manufacturing equipment, the need for comprehensive IoT security has never been more critical - especially as the proliferation of IP-connected devices continues to accelerate and shows no sign of slowing."

Effective immediately, IoT fingerprinting and profiling will now be automatically included in Portnox's NAC-as-a-Service subscription for organisations with 500+ devices.