Understanding Operational Technology Personnel's Mindsets and Their Effect on Cybersecurity Perceptions: A Qualitative Study With Operational Technology Cybersecurity Practitioners

Operational Technology (OT) is hardware and software that monitor and control industrial processes in sectors such as water and energy. OT's increased digitalisation which expanded its attack surface, heightened institutional pressures including regulation, and the evolving threat landscape have compelled companies using OT to improve their cybersecurity. Security often clashes with employees’ values and hinders them from performing their primary job tasks, leading to its circumvention. OT personnel are a user group with distinctive characteristics, including the cyber-physical technology they use, and subsequently, their safety culture. Nevertheless, there's little research on how OT personnel's mindsets are formed, and in turn, how these mindsets affect their cybersecurity beliefs and behaviours.