Number of Internet-accessible ICS components is increasing every year

The number of industrial control system (ICS) components – which run factories, transport, power plants and other facilities – left open to Internet access, is increasing every year. In Germany, for example, researchers from Positive Technologies found 13,242 IP addresses for ICS components, up from 12,542 in 2016. (HelpNet Security)

Plugging things willy-nilly into the network didn't turn out so well at the dawn of the PC age. The idea that we can get it right at the dawn of the age of IoT is quickly fading away. The probability that these organizations are able to effectively monitor those devices for threats is close to zero (odds are this is the first notice they've had that they've left a back door open into their enterprise). IoT devices are largely insecure by design, putting the benefits an organization hopes to gain from deploying IoT at risk if they are not deployed in a secure fashion.