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The Internet of Things (IoT): The IP enabling of currently passive objects, including smart heating and lighting systems, industrial robots, intelligent meters, and personal devices such as smart watches, smart glasses, and fitness monitoring products.

The Internet of Things isn’t on its way: it’s already here.

According to Gartner, 4.9 billion connected things will be in use in 2015. As these devices inevitably make their way into the enterprise, organizations will be forced to contend with the significant security issues they bring with them.

A recent survey by the Harvard Business Review found that 46 percent of IoT early adopters faced obstacles with privacy and security compliance – and that’s just the beginning. Here are three ways the proliferation of IoT devices is expected to impact enterprise security:

1. The enterprise network will be exposed. According to a recent Tripwire survey, remote employees had an average of 11 IoT devices on their home networks, and 24 percent of them had connected at least one of these devices to their enterprise network.

IoT devices tend to have insecure frameworks that are easily compromised. As such, they put the enterprise in a very vulnerable position when they connect to the enterprise network. To protect against an attack initiated by a compromised IoT device, organizations will need to implement network segmentation and real-time monitoring. IT should also be able to identify when and from where a new IoT device attempts to gain network access.

2. Internet of Things (IoT) devices are vulnerable to attack. According to HP’s 2014 Internet of Things State of the Union Study, 70 percent of the most commonly used IoT devices are vulnerable to attack, due to issues with password security, permissions, and encryption.

These inherent security flaws make it easier for cyber criminals to compromise IoT devices and gain unauthorized access to corporate networks. To protect your organization, we recommend implementing a Managed Mobility Services (MMS) strategy that encompasses robust security policies for IoT devices.

3. Internet of Things (IoT) will cause an increase in cyber attacks. According to Experian’s 2015 Data Breach Industry Forecast, we can expect to see an increase in cyber attacks initiated by compromised IoT devices and interconnected systems adopted by the enterprise.

This increase is partly due to insecure frameworks, and partly due to the fact that IT isn’t accustomed to securing so many heterogeneous devices. Organizations will need to adapt by developing scalable policies and systems that allow IT to properly secure the influx of new, varied, and vulnerable IoT devices.