As the Internet of Things strengthens its foothold in business, so does the need to secure it.

Last year represented a record year for IoT attacks, according to security vendor Symantec, which cited the emergence of eight new, emerging malware families, many of which continue to be active in 2016. It also said that more than half of the attacks in 2015 originated from China and the U.S.

Security "could be one of the inhibitors of IoT really taking off," Sung Lee, a security architect with Intel's Internet of Things group, said last month at the vendor's Security of Things conference in Cambridge, Mass.

Here are four recent articles about security and IoT, from within and outside the IT industry, to get you up to speed with how you as a solution provider might approach the issue with your customers.

CSC: Security not keeping up with IoT's advance

George V. Hulme takes the cover off recent research from IDC to underscore how internal skills are not keeping up with the rising concerns over security and privacy around IoT.

DIGINOMICA: How should enterprises respond?

Analyst Jon Reed outlines four security principles for businesses in the wake of a big IoT hack.

NATIONAL LAW REVIEW: The impact on worker privacy and security

As advances in IoT technology allow for greater tracking of employee movement by global positioning satellites, attorney Connor Sabatino writes that businesses need guidance on how to handle such privacy concerns around IoT.

IoT HUB: Why IoT security is so complex

The complexity begins with defining what IoT is in the first place, Peter Gutierrez writes.