Privacy Challenges and Solutions in IoT Deployments: Insights from Saudi Arabia

Abstract

When firms implement the Internet of Things (IoT), they face many privacy issues. The literature identifies many issues related to the different layers of IoT. However, empirical studies on firms implementing IoT are rare. This study aimed to address this gap. An online survey using Survey Monkey obtained 199 valid responses. All ethical aspects were fully complied with. These responses were analysed for their frequencies. The results were presented and discussed. From the results and discussions of this study, large Saudi firms face many IoT privacy issues. However, most of these firms solve these problems by implementing effective solutions. Other firms that have not implemented effective solutions can learn from the firms that have effectively implemented solutions. The best practices derivable from the results are: (1) Perform a detailed analysis of IoT privacy issues in the organisation, identifying the threat to each layer; (2) Rate the privacy threats according to their frequency, probability and impact rather than through guesswork. This can be achieved by regular monitoring of IoT risks, (3) Implementing solutions based on the type of issue and the vulnerable IoT layer using the rating results, and (4) Regularly monitoring, reviewing and improving the implemented solutions to IoT privacy issues. Some limitations of this study and the scope for future research have been mentioned at the end of this paper.