Internet of Things (IoT) networks has recently become an important component of smart cities, smart buildings, health care, and other applications. It finds it beneficial due to the inherent characteristics of low cost, compact, and low-powered IoT devices. At the same time, security remains a challenging issue in the design of IoT networks. Intrusion detection systems (IDS) can be used to identify the occurrence of intrusions in the network, i.e., abnormal activities in the network. The latest advances in machine learning (ML) and metaheuristics can be employed to design effective IDS models for IoT networks. This article develops a novel political optimizer with cascade forward neural network (PO-CFNN-)-based IDS in the IoT environment. The major intention of the PO-CFNN technique is to determine the occurrence of intrusions from the IoT environment. The PO-CFNN technique follows three major processes, namely, preprocessing, classification, and parameter optimization. Initially, the networking data is preprocessed to transform it into a useful format. Following that, the CFNN technique is employed for the identification and classification of intrusions in the IoT environment. In the final stage, the PO algorithm is applied for the optimal adjustment of the parameters involved in the CFNN model. The experimental validation of the PO-CFNN technique on a benchmark dataset stated the better outcomes of the PO-CFNN technique over recent approaches.