IoT use is especially high in critical infrastructure sectors
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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
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) describes critical infrastructure industries as providing a “backbone for society’s economy, security and health.” 5
As such, these sectors are often a prime target of nation-state threat actors, according to NIST, especially those focused on disrupting national security and public safety—because critical infrastructure operations are considered essential to national security.
Today, the widespread and growing use of IoT sensors and internet-connected devices can also expand cyber risks.
The many uses of IoT in critical infrastructure
IoT devices and sensors today are used to monitor and control all types of assets, facilities and systems across a wide range of critical processes, increasing efficiency, security and resilience. IoT devices enable predictive maintenance across industrial environments and can detect an early-stage equipment failure before it results in downtime. They are also used to improve worker safety while decreasing the need for manual interventions.
IoT devices are also used to transform power supply networks into smart grids, turning metropolitan areas into smart cities, and making many types of public facilities safer and more comfortable. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of IoT uses across critical infrastructure operations.
As a result, IoT adoption is expanding rapidly across nearly all critical infrastructure sectors.
96%
of critical infrastructure organizations report some degree of IoT adoption.
What is critical infrastructure?
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has designated 16 industries as critical infrastructure sectors, as follows:6
- Chemical: enterprises that manufacture, store, use and transport chemicals, including potentially dangerous chemicals on which other sectors rely
- Commercial facilities: sites where large crowds of people gather for shopping, business, entertainment or other activities
- Communications: an interoperable network of satellites, wireless and wireline communications that provides an enabling function across all critical infrastructure sectors
- Critical manufacturing: a subset of manufacturing with national significance, for which a successful attack could disrupt essential functions at a national level
- Dams: critical water retention and control services, including hydroelectric power generation, municipal and industrial water supplies and agricultural irrigation
- Defense industrial base (DIB): the worldwide industrial complex that enables the research and development of military weapons systems, subsystems and components
- Emergency services: resources that provide a range of prevention, preparedness, response and recovery services to help save lives and protect property and the environment
- Energy: a multifaceted web of electricity, oil and natural gas resources and assets that also provides an enabling function across all critical infrastructure sectors
- Financial services: the large global firms, nationwide and community banks, and credit unions that make it possible for consumers to deposit and invest funds, make payments, access credit and liquidity, and transfer financial risks
- Food and agriculture: farms and restaurants, as well as food manufacturing, processing and storage facilities
- Government facilities: a wide variety of buildings in the U.S. and abroad, many of which are open to the public that are owned or leased by federal, state, local and/or tribal governments
- Healthcare and public health: focuses on population health and provides the response and recovery actions needed after large-scale hazards such as terrorism, infectious disease and natural disasters
- Information technology: virtual and distributed functions that produce and deliver hardware, software, systems and services that help enable internet connectivity
- Nuclear reactors, materials and waste: the nuclear power plants, research and test reactors, fuel cycle facilities, and waste management systems that help make up America’s extensive civilian nuclear infrastructure
- Transportation systems: the modes such as aviation, trucking, maritime, rail, pipelines, postal/shipping services and mass transit that move people and goods across the country and overseas
- Water and wastewater: the systems that provide safe drinking water and wastewater treatment services
Across all critical infrastructure sectors, respondents from energy utilities and Public Sector organizations report the most IoT projects in production.
These projects deliver value across an array of use cases, including physical security, environmental monitoring, location tracking and telehealth, among others.
61%
of critical infrastructure respondents use IoT devices to monitor the physical security of buildings and other properties, including video surveillance.
52%
of critical infrastructure respondents use IoT devices to enable services such as digital signage, or to support consumer offerings such as wearables or in-vehicle services.
52%
of critical infrastructure respondents use IoT devices to support efficiency by monitoring equipment or productivity.
5 National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Special Publication (SP) 800-175A, 2016.
6 Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Critical Infrastructure Sectors. Across all critical infrastructure sectors, respondents from energy utilities and Public Sector organizations report the most IoT projects in production.