IoT (Internet of Things)
Physical devices with embedded sensors, software, and network connectivity that exchange data over a network. IoT encompasses billions of devices from industrial sensors to building systems to consumer gadgets.
What is IoT (Internet of Things)?
Physical devices with embedded sensors, software, and network connectivity that exchange data over a network. IoT encompasses billions of devices from industrial sensors to building systems to consumer gadgets.
The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to physical devices embedded with sensors, software, and network connectivity that collect and exchange data over the internet or private networks. IoT encompasses an enormous range of device types: smart building systems (HVAC, lighting, physical access), industrial sensors, IP cameras, environmental monitors, consumer wearables, medical devices, agricultural sensors, transportation systems, and thousands of other categories.
The scale of IoT deployment has been one of the defining technology trends of the past decade. Global IoT device counts passed 15 billion in 2023 and are projected to exceed 30 billion by 2030. In enterprise environments, IoT devices now significantly outnumber traditional IT endpoints. Yet security programs, tools, and staffing evolved primarily around managed IT devices — creating a persistent and growing security gap between the device population that exists on networks and the device population that security teams can see and protect.
IoT security challenges stem from fundamental design decisions: devices are optimized for function and cost, not security. Compute and memory constraints make running security software impractical. Commodity hardware and software components mean vulnerabilities are shared across millions of devices. Consumer market economics drive rapid deployment without security validation. Long operational lifetimes mean devices remain in service well past their software support windows. These constraints require security approaches that work around rather than through the device itself.
Key Facts
- Global IoT device count exceeded 15 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach 30 billion by 2030
- IoT devices are the fastest-growing component of enterprise attack surfaces
- Average enterprise discovers 3–5x more IoT devices than it expected when full network monitoring is deployed
- IoT security spending is growing at 20%+ annually, driven by regulatory requirements and breach incidents
How ORDR Addresses IoT (Internet of Things)
ORDR provides comprehensive security coverage for the full IoT device estate: agentless discovery and classification, behavioral baseline monitoring, risk scoring combining CVE data with device context, and network policy enforcement — all without requiring any changes to the IoT devices themselves. ORDR is the security layer that operates around IoT devices rather than requiring security to be built into them.
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See IoT (Internet of Things) in practice.
ORDR gives security teams complete visibility into every connected asset—and the intelligence to act on what matters most.