• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, February 25, 2016

While connected devices are popping up everywhere, from clothing and cars to appliances and buildings, confidence is lacking in a big way in the security around The Internet of Things.

But while security is seen as a monster issue pretty much across the board, companies are stil planning to plough plenty of money into IoT.

A recent report by Gartner identifying the top technologies for next year put security at the top of the list.

The report notes that security in the IoT environment is complicated, as many devices and other connections use simple processors and operating systems that may not support modern security approaches.

And now a new State of IoT Security report just out says that most (90%) business leaders are not fully confident that their connected devices are secure.

On the other side, most (85%) global organizations are considering, exploring or implementing an IoT strategy. A quarter are already piloting or implementing IoT-related projects, according to the report.

The study is based on a survey of 500 director level or above executives in companies with more than 1,000 employees and was commissioned by AT&T.

The number of Internet-connected devices in businesses is on the rise. The majority (67%) of businesses have 1,000 or more connected devices and a third (32%) have 5,000 or more. Here’s the breakdown:

• 5,000 or more – 32%
• 1,000-4,999 – 35%
• 100-999 – 20%
• 99 or fewer – 8%

As companies continue to move forward with IoT projects, their faith in security is basically at the other end of the spectrum.

Meanwhile, employees coming into those businesses increasingly will be wearing and carrying Internet-connected devices, potentially complicating matters even further.

As might be expected, the majority (68%) of businesses say their companies plan to invest in IoT security this year. Half of those organizations are earmarking at least a quarter of their security budgets toward the IoT.

That is likely to be a good investment.