Test of Things development is co-funded by EU

Test of Things is a new company whose mission is to protect our customers, and the whole society, from cybersecurity incidents. 

The poor cybersecurity of the Internet of Things (IoT) threatens critical societal and business functions. For example the manufacturing industry is currently experiencing a significant surge in cyberattacks, becoming the most targeted sector for three consecutive years (source: The World Economic Forum). Ransomware attacks are particularly prevalent, with a large percentage of companies experiencing them and a substantial portion resulting in data encryption and ransom demands. The financial impact of these attacks is also on the rise, with costs increasing significantly each year.

Authorities and markets have responded by demanding higher IoT cybersecurity standards through legislation and cybersecurity standards. Increased regulation means very high demand for compliance assessment services, and consequently very high cost for IoT providers.

Test of Things is a new product, with a totally novel approach to assess IoT security against requirements cost-effectively and scalably. Our aim is to create a test automation system for IoT cybersecurity to help device manufacturers, authorities, and users globally.

Test of Things is unique because we take a broad look at the entire IoT system when assessing its security. This includes addressing vulnerabilities across all IoT subsystems, such as:

• Devices.

• Backends.

• Applications.

• Frontends.

• Operating systems.

• Software components.

Co-funded by the European Union

The European Union has taken decisive action to address cybersecurity issues by introducing new regulations like the Radio Equipment Directive (RED) and the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA). We are proud to be supported by the European Union in developing our innovative technology further.

The goal is to develop a product prototype that is easy to use and allows users to self-assess their product’s compliance with the security standards and regulations. The grant empowers us to further our mission of protecting customers and society from cyber incidents by making IoT cybersecurity testing easy and automated.

Do you know the impact of IoT attacks?

• Volume of Attacks: The number of IoT cyberattacks has been steadily increasing, with a jump to 112 million in 2022 from 32 million in 2018.

• Cost of Attacks: A single successful attack on an IoT device can cost businesses an average of $330,000. 

• Malware Growth: IoT malware incidents have seen a significant year-over-year increase, with an 87% rise

• Industry Vulnerability: The manufacturing industry is particularly vulnerable, experiencing a disproportionately high number of attacks, with over 54% of all IoT malware incidents targeting this sector. 

• Unencrypted Traffic: A large percentage of IoT device traffic (98%) is unencrypted, making it more susceptible to attacks. 

• Common Attack Methods: Credential stuffing, brute-force attacks, and exploitation of unpatched firmware are common methods attackers use to compromise IoT devices. 

• Specific Attack Examples: Mirai and Gafgyt botnets are frequently used in IoT attacks, accounting for a significant portion of attack payloads. 

These statistics highlight the growing threat landscape of IoT devices and the urgent need for robust security measures to protect networks and data. The EU support enabled Test of Things to tackle these problems for the benefit of the EU and the whole world.