Operational expertise (OT) infrastructure is dealing with an unprecedented wave of cyberattacks, with a reported 73% surge in incidents, in keeping with the Fortinet 2024 State of Operational Expertise and Cybersecurity Report. OT organizations chargeable for crucial infrastructure and industrial processes usually discover themselves within the crosshairs of more and more subtle menace actors.
Nevertheless, there’s a silver lining. Though cyber intrusions have risen, organizations are taking concrete steps to boost OT security. Management constructions are adapting, and the applied sciences safeguarding OT techniques have gotten extra sturdy. But, the problem of securing converged IT/OT environments persists, making it important for executives, significantly Chief Info Safety Officers (CISOs), to remain knowledgeable on the evolving menace panorama.
A c-suite mindset shift
The elevation of OT cybersecurity dangers to the chief stage marks a major shift in company priorities. The 2024 Fortinet report is the sixth version, and 6 years in the past, OT security was usually ignored. Many factories operated in isolation from IT techniques, however over time as industries have more and more linked their operational environments to exterior networks, the vulnerabilities have turn out to be obvious.
Immediately, OT security is a precedence throughout business sectors, with extra corporations recognizing the necessity to defend their crucial infrastructure. CISO obligations now embody OT security, alongside different C-suite leaders such because the CIO, COO, and CTO. This collective duty displays a broader understanding that securing OT environments is crucial to making sure enterprise continuity and mitigating operational dangers.
New threats and focused assaults
Menace actors are sharpening their deal with OT networks, significantly within the manufacturing sector. The Fortinet report highlights an uptick in assaults geared toward degrading model fame and stealing crucial enterprise information and mental property. Criminals have additionally begun monetizing the disruption of manufacturing traces, factoring this into their ransom calls for.
Moreover, two varieties of assaults have gotten more and more prevalent. The primary is conventional ransomware, which might halt manufacturing and disrupt crucial infrastructure. The second, extra regarding, is OT-specific malware designed to govern bodily processes equivalent to valves, switches, and conveyor belts. These assaults, usually state-sponsored, pose a major threat to nationwide infrastructure and company property.
The problem of modernization
Regardless of enhancements, many OT environments proceed to wrestle with modernization. Older manufacturing gear, designed for reliability reasonably than security, creates blind spots. These legacy techniques usually use outdated communication protocols and are troublesome to safe with out first reaching full visibility.
To handle this case, organizations should stock their OT property, implement next-generation firewalls, and section their networks. As OT security matures, adopting a zero-trust method and incorporating superior security operations (SecOps) turns into more and more necessary. The report reveals a spectrum of maturity amongst organizations, with some nonetheless at the start of their journey whereas others are embracing cutting-edge SecOps methods.
Motion steps for leaders
Expertise leaders can take instant actions to safe their OT environments:
- Improve community segmentation: Deploy further firewalls and switches to section OT networks, decreasing the danger of lateral motion by dangerous actors.
- Deal with legacy techniques: Many OT gadgets are too outdated to obtain security patches. Implement compensating controls like microsegmentation, digital patching, and deception applied sciences to guard these weak techniques.
- Develop OT SecOps: Plan for a future the place OT-specific SecOps instruments and processes are built-in into joint IT/OT security operations facilities. This ensures complete protection of distinctive OT gadgets and community communications.
- Consolidate security distributors: Given the scarcity of expert OT security professionals, consolidating security distributors may also help streamline operations and enhance effectivity.
- Leverage superior menace intelligence: Because the menace panorama evolves quickly, having AI-driven, real-time menace intelligence is crucial. This helps organizations keep forward of rising threats and optimize their security posture.
Utilizing a platform method to security can significantly improve these efforts. The Fortinet OT Safety platform, for instance, supplies broad, built-in, and automatic options that embrace safe networking, zero belief, and OT-specific menace intelligence. This holistic method helps organizations consolidate distributors and strengthen their OT defenses in opposition to the most recent cyber threats.
Make cybersecurity a precedence
In an period the place OT techniques are more and more linked to the digital world, cybersecurity have to be a prime precedence for executives. Taking a proactive method by bettering visibility, modernizing legacy techniques, and leveraging superior menace intelligence may also help defend organizations from evolving threats whereas making certain the graceful operation of crucial infrastructure.
