Operational expertise (OT) infrastructure is dealing with an unprecedented wave of cyberattacks, with a reported 73% surge in incidents, based on the Fortinet 2024 State of Operational Technology and Cybersecurity Report. OT organizations answerable for essential infrastructure and industrial processes typically discover themselves within the crosshairs of more and more subtle risk 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 programs have gotten extra strong. But, the problem of securing converged IT/OT environments persists, making it important for executives, significantly Chief Data Safety Officers (CISOs), to remain knowledgeable on the evolving risk panorama.
A c-suite mindset shift
The elevation of OT cybersecurity dangers to the manager stage marks a big shift in company priorities. The 2024 Fortinet report is the sixth version, and 6 years in the past, OT safety was typically missed. Many factories operated in isolation from IT programs, however over time as industries have more and more related their operational environments to exterior networks, the vulnerabilities have grow to be obvious.
At this time, OT safety is a precedence throughout trade sectors, with extra firms recognizing the necessity to defend their essential infrastructure. CISO tasks now embody OT safety, alongside different C-suite leaders such because the CIO, COO, and CTO. This collective duty displays a broader understanding that securing OT environments is essential 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 aimed toward degrading model fame and stealing essential enterprise information and mental property. Criminals have additionally begun monetizing the disruption of manufacturing strains, factoring this into their ransom calls for.
Moreover, two kinds of assaults have gotten more and more prevalent. The primary is conventional ransomware, which might halt manufacturing and disrupt essential infrastructure. The second, extra regarding, is OT-specific malware designed to control bodily processes akin to valves, switches, and conveyor belts. These assaults, typically state-sponsored, pose a big threat to nationwide infrastructure and company belongings.
The problem of modernization
Regardless of enhancements, many OT environments proceed to wrestle with modernization. Older manufacturing gear, designed for reliability quite than safety, creates blind spots. These legacy programs typically use outdated communication protocols and are troublesome to safe with out first reaching full visibility.
To deal with this case, organizations should stock their OT belongings, implement next-generation firewalls, and section their networks. As OT safety matures, adopting a zero-trust approach and incorporating superior security operations (SecOps) turns into more and more necessary. The report reveals a spectrum of maturity amongst organizations, with some nonetheless in the beginning of their journey whereas others are embracing cutting-edge SecOps methods.
Motion steps for leaders
Know-how leaders can take instant actions to safe their OT environments:
- Improve community segmentation: Deploy further firewalls and switches to section OT networks, lowering the chance of lateral motion by dangerous actors.
- Deal with legacy programs: Many OT gadgets are too previous to obtain safety patches. Implement compensating controls like microsegmentation, digital patching, and deception applied sciences to guard these susceptible programs.
- Develop OT SecOps: Plan for a future the place OT-specific SecOps instruments and processes are built-in into joint IT/OT safety operations facilities. This ensures complete protection of distinctive OT gadgets and community communications.
- Consolidate safety distributors: Given the scarcity of expert OT safety professionals, consolidating safety distributors will help streamline operations and enhance effectivity.
- Leverage superior risk intelligence: Because the risk panorama evolves quickly, having AI-driven, real-time risk intelligence is essential. This helps organizations keep forward of rising threats and optimize their safety posture.
Utilizing a platform strategy to safety can drastically improve these efforts. The Fortinet OT Safety platform, for instance, gives broad, built-in, and automatic options that embrace safe networking, zero belief, and OT-specific risk intelligence. This holistic strategy helps organizations consolidate distributors and strengthen their OT defenses towards the most recent cyber threats.
Make cybersecurity a precedence
In an period the place OT programs are more and more related to the digital world, cybersecurity have to be a high precedence for executives. Taking a proactive strategy by bettering visibility, modernizing legacy programs, and leveraging superior risk intelligence will help defend organizations from evolving threats whereas guaranteeing the sleek operation of essential infrastructure.
