Attitudes and Perceptions of IoT Security in Critical Societal Services

A quiet revolution that impacts several sectors, ranging over transport, home automation, energy, industrial control, and health services is undergoing with addition of new networked devices leading to enhanced services. In this paper, we aim to identify information security requirements that are common over several (vertical) sectors, and in particular, ones that impact critical societal services, namely, the energy, water, and health management systems. We present the results of an interview-based study where actors in these sectors were asked about their perceptions and attitudes on the security of Internet of Things (IoT). We set these perceptions and attitudes in context through a literature review of IoT security, and relate to current challenges in this area. This paper demonstrates that despite an overall optimistic view on IoT in critical societal services, there is a lack of consensus on risks related to IoT security.