Critical infrastructure sectors have specific considerations.
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- 2024
- Introduction
- Modern work, enabled by mobile
- IoT—everything, everywhere, all at once
- IoT use is especially high in critical infrastructure sectors
- IoT security risks: Amplified in critical infrastructure sectors
- All sectors perceive increased mobile and IoT risk
- Breach risks and impacts are high, especially in critical infrastructure
- Shadow IT: A looming security challenge
- Emerging AI cyberthreats meet new AI defenses
- The disconnect between perceived and actual mobile security
- Critical infrastructure sectors have specific considerations
- Mobile security awareness and solution investments are rising
- IoT security is also making strides
- But IoT security gaps remain
- More to do. More that can be done.
- The call to arms: Move faster
- Appendices
- Contributors
- Download the full report
Mobile and IoT-related risks are a reality across industries, but every vertical is unique. Each has its own threat profile, its own use cases for IoT deployments and its own regulatory requirements.
While mobile security challenges exist across all industries, these risks were found to be elevated across critical infrastructure sectors.
Energy
The energy sector has long been a top target of nation-state attackers interested in disrupting operations, stealing information assets and harming the economy, according to the International Energy Forum.
What’s more, energy sector companies are caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to IoT implementation. These devices are viewed as essential to optimizing processes by most respondents (64%), but nearly as many (62%) view IoT as a major security challenge.
Nearly half of respondents (49%) view greater use of IoT-enabled services as vital to improving employee safety. Of course, a major breach involving cyber-physical systems in this industry has the potential to threaten human health and safety, too. How’s that for a paradox?
90%
of energy sector respondents agree that managing the nation’s infrastructure makes them a target for cybercriminals.
Public Sector
The Public Sector’s mission—to provide the essential services necessary for public welfare—makes it an attractive target for malicious actors looking for ways to cause far-reaching societal harm. At the same time, accelerating digital transformation of public services can make it faster, easier and more efficient for government organizations to meet the needs of their constituents. Mainly taxpayer-funded, Public Sector entities must also operate within firm budgetary constraints, making the efficiencies delivered by IoT particularly attractive.
The desire to digitize services for greater efficiency and cost benefit is driving significant IoT adoption in the Public Sector. Public Sector respondents to our survey agree that increased use of IoT is essential for accelerating their digital transformation and meeting budget pressures. However, nearly half (47%) cite IoT use as a daunting security and privacy challenge as well. Yet a majority prioritizes cost-efficient digital service delivery over cybersecurity risk.
Unfortunately, the risks are severe. A significant majority (85%) of Public Sector respondents believe that a security breach in their industry could endanger human lives.
Healthcare
Along with digital healthcare technology, the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is poised to transform every aspect of patient care from appointment scheduling to diagnostics, all the way through to continuous glucose, temperature and cardiac monitoring—and beyond.
The potential consequences of a security breach in this sector are also severe, especially considering what could happen if connected medical devices are targeted, given the role they play in critical care and life-support systems.
Telehealth is perceived as presenting a valuable opportunity to improve patient care and an opportunity for growth by more than two-thirds of healthcare sector respondents (71% and 67%, respectively). Less than half (44%) understand telehealth adoption as a daunting security and privacy challenge. For many stakeholders in this sector, improving the quality of patient care is a higher priority than mitigating cyber risk. At the same time, more than nine in ten respondents (92%) believe that their industry is a top target for cybercriminals.
92%
of healthcare respondents agree that the confidential nature of patient data makes their industry a target for cybercriminals.
Financial services
Since the start of the pandemic, mobile banking has rapidly evolved from a “nice to have” to a “can’t live without” for many consumers. To meet customer expectations, financial institutions must deliver convenient, friction-free digital experiences to their customers—at any time, in any place, on any device. At the same time, criminals tend to go where the money is, making banks and financial services firms a high-value target. Balancing regulatory constraints, attractiveness to bad actors and the convenience needs of customers is no easy task.
Financial sector respondents believe that using mobile-based services is essential if they are to stay relevant to consumers, but they also think that maintaining a strong cybersecurity reputation is vital for attracting and retaining their customers.
85%
of financial sector respondents agree that using mobile-based services is essential for being innovative and staying relevant to consumers.
70%
agree that using mobile-based services increases their agility and responsiveness.
68%
agree that having a good cybersecurity reputation is important for retaining existing customers.
66%
agree that having a good cybersecurity reputation helps them attract new customers.
Manufacturing
In manufacturing, efficiency and productivity are major drivers of revenue growth. It follows that IoT adoption by manufacturing organizations can offer enormous benefits. Embedding sensors into production processes can optimize throughput, enable predictive maintenance analytics to prevent downtime and improve quality control. IoT devices can also gather the data that manufacturers need to meet environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives.
With all of these potential benefits, it’s no surprise that the use of IoT devices and mobile-based services is on the rise among manufacturing sector respondents. What’s concerning, however, is that increasing operational technology (OT) and IT convergence—and with it the added connectivity between networks and physical production operations—both raise the possibility that a breach could jeopardize expensive infrastructure, as well as human health and safety. When digital devices control physical systems like robotic arms, cyber risks potentially become risks to life and limb.
90%
of manufacturing respondents agree that growing OT and IT integration makes mobile device security more critical.
92%
of manufacturers are using IoT devices.