IBM, Nokia, Palo Alto Networks, Symantec and Trustonic are partnering to use their combined expertise to help tackle today’s top Internet of Things (IoT) security challenges, said AT&T last week.

The companies have formed what they call an IoT Cybersecurity Alliance which combines industry-leading security providers and IoT experts. The group will research and raise awareness of ways to better secure the IoT ecosystem, according to AT&T.

The goals of this IoT Cybersecurity Alliance are to:

  • Collaborate and research security challenges of IoT across verticals and use cases such as Connected Car, Industrial, Smart Cities and Healthcare.
  • Dissect and solve for IoT security problems at every critical layer of security. These include the endpoint, connectivity, cloud, and data/application layers.
  • Make security easy to access across the ecosystem.
  • Influence security standards and policies.

“The explosive growth in the number of IoT devices is only expected to continue; therefore, so must the associated cybersecurity protections,” said Mo Katibeh, AT&T senior vice president of Advanced Solutions. “Today’s businesses are connecting devices ranging from robots on factory floors to pacemakers and refrigerators. Helping these organizations stay protected requires innovation across the whole IoT ecosystem to enable sustainable growth.”