SAFER: Development and Evaluation of an IoT Device Risk Assessment Framework in a Multinational Organization
This work addresses security risks for IoT device users in organizations, but it is incremental as it builds on existing risk assessment concepts.
The authors tackled the problem of IoT device security risks by developing and evaluating SAFER, a risk assessment framework, in a multinational organization; the study with 20 employees showed that SAFER increased user awareness and impacted device selection.
Users of Internet of Things (IoT) devices are often unaware of their security risks and cannot sufficiently factor security considerations into their device selection. This puts networks, infrastructure and users at risk. We developed and evaluated SAFER, an IoT device risk assessment framework designed to improve users' ability to assess the security of connected devices. We deployed SAFER in a large multinational organization that permits use of private devices. To evaluate the framework, we conducted a mixed-method study with 20 employees. Our findings suggest that SAFER increases users' awareness of security issues. It provides valuable advice and impacts device selection. Based on our findings, we discuss implications for the design of device risk assessment tools, with particular regard to the relationship between risk communication and user perceptions of device complexity.