Many mining companies are struggling with cybersecurity challenges as they move to harness the Internet of Things (IoT), new research by mobile satellite communications group Inmarsat shows.

Some of the findings of the 2020 edition of Inmarsat’s research programme into IoT trends, ‘The Rise of IoT in Mining’, also reveal that more than half of the mining organisations surveyed report that cybersecurity has not been a priority for their IoT solutions.

One of the key reasons found to be behind the lack of action to improve security defences and an absence of awareness of cybersecurity is a shortage of skills across key stakeholder positions.

“Despite a significant growth in IoT adoption across the sector in recent years, the continued lack of attention to cybersecurity means there is a heightened risk of projects failing before benefits can be realised,” says Inmarsat mining director Nicholas Prevost.

“The mining sector stands to make considerable gains by leveraging IoT. However, as IoT connects more parts of a mining company’s operations and infrastructure to the Internet, this will inevitably create more access points for potential security breaches.”

This means that mining businesses need to drive cybersecurity higher up on the company agenda to manage and deliver IoT initiatives in a secure way, while addressing skills shortages across different leadership and key stakeholder positions.

He points out that the respondents were aware of the damage that a cyberattack could trigger and the range of threats they are now facing as they ramp up IoT adoption.

However, despite this awareness, 53% of mining organisations reported that cybersecurity has not been a priority for their IoT solutions and could be vastly improved, and 64% of the respondents reported lacking the level of security skills required when it comes to successfully delivering IoT-based solutions.

The most highly ranked security risks included the insecure storage of collected data (56%), employees misusing data (54%), insecure network links to external infrastructure (49%) and ransomware and malware (45%).

Some 50% of the respondents are taking steps to protect their IoT solutions by partnering with cybersecurity specialists and 41% are implementing 24/7 network monitoring every day of the year; however, the report highlights that 11% of mining businesses have not taken any steps to strengthen their approach to IoT security.

“Our research clearly showed that mining businesses are not upskilling their staff to securely manage and deliver their IoT initiatives,” says Prevost, noting that, if there is a shortage of skills in key stakeholder positions, there will likely be an absence of awareness of the importance of cybersecurity.

“This goes some way to explain the lack of action when it comes to improving IoT security.

“For those organisations that are striving to become pioneers in digital transformation, upskilling current members of staff and getting the right talent in place, at all levels of seniority and stakeholder positions, simply has to be at the top of the agenda,” he concludes.