The need for much improved IoT and operational technology (OT) cybersecurity became clearer this year with recent attacks on network devices,1 surveillance systems,2 an oil pipeline,3 and a water treatment facility,4 to name a few examples.
To better understand the challenges customers are facing, Microsoft partnered with the Ponemon Institute to produce empirical data to help us better understand the state of IoT and OT security from a customer’s perspective. With this data, we hope to better target our cybersecurity investments and to improve the efficacy within Microsoft Defender for IoT, and our other IoT-related products. Ponemon conducted the research by surveying 615 IT, IT security, and OT security practitioners across the United States.