Industrial IoT vendor PTC has created a coordinated vulnerability disclosure program for researchers that test the security of its ThingWorx-branded products.

The new program “is designed to support the reporting and remediation of security vulnerabilities that could potentially affect the environments in which PTC products operate, including industrial and safety-critical industries”, the company said in a statement.

It is seeking contributions from external vulnerability researchers, and said the program is designed to ensure “that researchers can count on PTC to cooperate to protect its customers and the safety/privacy of the public.”

PTC’s chief security officer Joshua Corman said the company was well aware that IoT came with “new classes of accidents and adversaries”.

“In this new world order, cyber safety and security must become everyone’s responsibility, and we must work together to address such threats,” he said.

The IoT market is at a tipping point, with IoT spending expected to reach US$1.2 trillion in 2022, according to a recent IDC guide.

“As organisations continue to invest in IoT, it is equally important that efforts are made across the entire IoT ecosystem to secure these end points and environments,” said Stacy Crook, research director, IoT at IDC.