Why Network Security Needs IoT Fingerprinting and Profiling

Mahdi Mohammadi

7월 21, 2025

With IoT endpoints now outnumbering traditional devices, static policies and manual provisioning no longer suffice

Enterprises across virtually every business vertical continue to adopt digital technologies such as mobility, data analytics, cloud, the Internet of Things (IoT), and connected infrastructure. Gartner® predicts that “in 2025, more than 85 percent of enterprises will have more smart edge devices on their network than laptops, tablets, desktops, or smartphones.”¹

Gartner also notes that “By 2028, IIoT platform providers will increase their total addressable market by 30% due to IT/OT integration requirements.”²

Furthermore, Gartner adds, “By 2026, 65% of IoT-enabled middleware sales will include purpose-built IoT applications, an increase from 35% in 2023.”³

This accelerating digital transformation, particularly around the proliferation of unapproved and unplanned IoT devices, introduces significant network infrastructure challenges:

• Traditional, static network configurations are not designed to securely or efficiently accommodate this influx of IoT endpoints while maintaining optimal network performance
• Many IoT devices lack embedded security or are shipped with default configurations, making them highly susceptible to exploitation and misuse

Faced with these challenges, IT administrators must decide whether to block unknown devices — potentially disrupting operations and frustrating users — or find scalable ways to enable their secure usage. One of the most effective approaches is leveraging device fingerprinting and profiling.

Keeping unapproved IoT devices — and your network — secure with fingerprinting and profiling

Manually provisioning, securing, and managing the ever-growing variety of IoT devices is becoming unfeasible for most organizations. Instead, by applying device fingerprinting and profiling techniques, IT teams can identify and classify devices based on their unique attributes and behaviors. This enables the automatic application of tailored security, bandwidth, and access policies aligned to the device's purpose and risk level.

Fingerprinting and profiling allow the creation of an up-to-date, dynamic inventory of connected devices stored within a cloud database. Administrators can then group these devices into customized categories and assign dynamic Universal Network Profiles (UNPs) to govern access. These profiles define bandwidth, quality of service, and security settings, ensuring IoT devices are handled according to policy within their own network containers.

For IT teams, this process acts as a force multiplier — simplifying IoT onboarding and lifecycle management while reducing manual overhead and risk. For organizations, it means employees, partners, and customers can benefit from connected devices without compromising security or network performance.

A real-world example: Dynamic profiling in higher education

Consider a university campus, where thousands of students bring their own IoT devices — smart TVs, game consoles, wireless printers. With device fingerprinting, the moment these devices connect to the network, they’re automatically assigned profiles that define access rights, security settings, and bandwidth limits. This enables administrators to, for instance, restrict streaming services during peak instructional hours, preserving network quality for academic use without any need for manual intervention.

OmniVista® Network Management System: Smart profiling at scale

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise’s OmniVista® Network Management System (NMS) is purpose-built to address these challenges. Within a Service Defined Network architecture, OmniVista NMS enables advanced device fingerprinting and profiling when deployed alongside OmniSwitch® and OmniAccess® Stellar Wireless Access Points.

OmniVista NMS inspects network traffic to determine the type of connected device, then communicates with a cloud-based fingerprinting service to categorize it and assign an Access Role Profile (AR Profile). These profiles dynamically enforce access control and security parameters, placing IoT devices into logical containers with predefined behaviors — such as bandwidth limits or certificate-based authentication.

This automation significantly enhances security posture while ensuring consistent performance across the network, especially in environments with high volumes of unmanaged or transient IoT devices.

Enabling secure innovation through smarter network control

As enterprises advance digital initiatives and embrace the convergence of IT and OT, network teams are being asked to do more with less — supporting innovation without compromising control. With IoT endpoints now outnumbering traditional devices, static policies and manual provisioning no longer suffice. Fingerprinting and profiling provide the foundation for intelligent, secure, and agile network environments — enabling organizations to embrace digital infrastructure confidently, while maintaining the visibility and control needed to stay ahead of threats and performance bottlenecks.

^{1. Kay Arnott, Alfonso Velosa, et al. (2024, November 15). Top 3 Trends Impacting the IoT Market in 2025. Gartner. www.gartner.com/en/documents/5926175
GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.}

^{Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.}

^{2. “IoT Integration Market Size & Growth (Latest), Trends, Evaluating Share, Leading Key Players, Outlook & Forecast – 2028.” The Globe and Mail. Jan. 10, 2025. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/markets-news/GetNews/30390435/iot-integration-market-size-growth-latest-trends-evaluating-share-leading-key-players-outlook-forecast-2028/}

^{3. Kay Arnott, Alfonso Velosa, et al. (2024, November 15). Top 3 Trends Impacting the IoT Market in 2025. Gartner. www.gartner.com/en/documents/5926175}