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Yesterday, Akamai announced that it had acquired Inverse, a company based in Montreal, dealing in open-source consulting and integration. Akamai has an interest in Inverse’s technology which provides context and visibility in the IoT landscape.

To be specific, Akamai said that Inverse would bring on board data repository services and algorithms that can identify mobile device types. The IoT services will provide insight to businesses, about how networks behave on those devices, to enhance security controls.

The mobile device types include HVAC, medical equipment, printers, robotics and lighting systems. They collect a lot of data, and with insight into that data, efficiency can be improved.

Understanding IoT

Robert Blumofe, the EVP of platform and GM of Akamai’s enterprise division, says that contact and visibility in the device landscape are critical. With devices that communicate all the time, understanding their typical behavior is very crucial.

He continues to say that the aim is to combine the device fingerprint data repository from Inverse with Akamai’s security data from the 1.3 billion device interactions happening every day across the latter’s Intelligent Edge security platform.

He believes that they can create an industry-leading solution that will use zero-trust controls, while also enhancing the security to the full landscape of devices and the workforce.

A future of growth

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Akamai will report its fourth-quarter financial results on February 9, which could offer some insights.

Ludovic Marcotte, the Inverse president and CEO, said that any number of IoT devices could be a jumping-off point for malicious software to find and steal corporate data. With the Fingerbank data lake, visibility becomes more crucial in spotting vulnerabilities.

IDC predicts that there will be over 40 billion devices connected to the internet in five years. That should provide enough room to grow.