The M2M and IoT industry has a security problem, and it's getting worse. As the number of connected devices surges past 18 billion in 2026, the attack surface expands with every new deployment. Legacy devices with outdated firmware, insecure default credentials, and unencrypted protocols remain in production networks worldwide. For CISOs and security architects, the challenge is daunting.
The Top Threats Facing M2M Deployments
Firmware exploitation remains the number-one attack vector. Many M2M devices run stripped-down Linux kernels with known vulnerabilities that never get patched. Unlike smartphones or PCs, these devices often lack over-the-air update mechanisms, leaving them permanently exposed.
Supply chain attacks have grown more sophisticated. Compromised software libraries, backdoored development tools, and tampered hardware components can introduce vulnerabilities before a device even reaches the customer. The SolarWinds-style attack applied to IoT firmware is a scenario that security teams are actively preparing for.
Protocol vulnerabilities in MQTT, CoAP, and Modbus — widely used in M2M communication — continue to be exploited. Many deployments use these protocols without TLS encryption, exposing sensitive operational data to network eavesdroppers.
Regulatory Pressure Is Mounting
Governments worldwide are introducing IoT security legislation. The EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) will require manufacturers to provide security updates for the lifetime of connected products. The US NIST IoT cybersecurity guidelines are becoming de facto requirements for government procurement. Non-compliance means market exclusion.
For M2M device manufacturers, these regulations mean fundamental changes to product development. Secure boot, hardware root of trust, encrypted communications, and vulnerability disclosure programs are no longer optional — they're table stakes.
Zero Trust for IoT
The traditional network perimeter model doesn't work for IoT. Devices connect from diverse locations, use various protocols, and have wildly different compute capabilities. Zero trust architecture — where every device and every connection is verified and monitored — is emerging as the security framework for M2M at scale.
Implementation looks different from enterprise zero trust: device certificates instead of user credentials, mutual TLS for all communications, microsegmentation at the network level, and continuous behavioral monitoring for anomaly detection.
Conference Sessions to Watch
IoT Tech Expo North America has a dedicated cybersecurity track with workshops on device hardening and penetration testing. Embedded World features hardware security demonstrations, including secure element integration and physical unclonable function (PUF) technology. GITEX Global runs a parallel cybersecurity event with IoT-specific sessions.
For events focused on security, browse our Cybersecurity conference listing and full M2M event directory.