Palo Alto Networks SVP: Injecting zero trust into IoT device security

Cybersecurity threats are a huge concern for any organization, but the results of threats to healthcare facilities can result in patient data being compromised and halting vital hospital operations.

Cyberattacks on healthcare organizations increased 200% from 2020 to 2021, according to a 2021 NTT threat report.

At Palo Alto Networks' Ignite 22 event last week, Anand Oswal, SVP of products, network security for Palo Alto, explained why a zero trust approach to securing medical IoT devices can provide more visibility into the network and reduce the attack surface.

Oswal pointed to a Gartner prediction that there will be 1.3 billion connected healthcare devices by 2030, up 244% from 2020.

"Having visibility into what assets you have on your network on devices you have is great, it's important," said Oswal. "But that can't be enough, because now the next thing you need to do is the need to segment these." That segmentation, he explained, ensures that medical devices, for example, are on their own network and kept separate from other types of IoT devices. He added that a zero trust approach to securing IoT devices ensures more security in enterprise networks.

Oswal also discussed how any enterprise can benefit from stronger IoT device security, and how service providers can deliver device security as a managed service to enterprise customers.

You can download a lightly edited transcript of the podcast here.

Here are a few topics we covered:

• How Palo Alto Networks is addressing IoT security and management for the healthcare industry (00:19)
• Working with service providers, in addition to enterprises, on IoT security. Using a zero trust approach to IoT security. (02:57)
• Maintaining security as devices are decommissioned (06:39)
• More detail about the zero trust approach to device security (08:04)
• Adding automation to IoT device management and security (09:16)

Related stories and links:

• Palo Alto execs: AI, automation solve reactionary security problem
• The Notebook Dump: We're freezing up in here
• Unit 42 tackles threat intelligence on a global scale

— Kelsey Kusterer Ziser, Senior Editor, Light Reading