Root Causes of Insecure Internet of Things and Holistically Addressing Them

The use of Internet of Things (IoT) continues to grow rapidly and with this growth comes increased cybersecurity risks. We continue to observe public cybersecurity incidents caused by insecure IoT and statistics depicting the poor cyber hygiene of IoT devices. This paper identifies many of the root causes for insecure IoT and identifies the need for a holistic approach to IoT security that includes the adoption of secure system development lifecycle practices, prioritizing aspects of organizational and human psychology, improved economic models, and resolution of challenges inherent to the technology and operational use cases for IoT.