ICS OT Cybersecurity: Why is OT important in cybersecurity?

Why is OT important in cybersecurity? What is an OT attack?

Why is OT important in cybersecurity? What is an OT attack?

In September, the city of Arkansas, Kansas, had to switch its water treatment, causing massive impedance to smooth access to safe drinking water. The facility had to shift to manual operations.  It was due to a cyber-attack on their OT systems. 

As businesses leverage the potential of digital in Industry 4.0 and OT (Operation Technology) & ICS (Industrial Control Systems) have rapidly become digitized and internet-facing, they have welcomed the uninvited guests looking to disrupt operations, steal data, and damage their reputation.

There is a rapid rise in cybercriminals, especially state-sponsored threat actors targeting critical infrastructures to cause espionage/massive disruption or lock up, steal, or erase their operation-specific or company secrets or similar sensitive data.

The recent SANS Institute ICS/OT cybersecurity survey has revealed that many organizations have high gaps in security, with critical security systems exposed to cybers ecurity risks.

How are cybercriminals able to disrupt such massive industrial operations? One of the reasons is that OT/ICS systems are often left unassessed for cybersecurity.

Let us understand cybersecurity in OT and ICS systems and why it plays a key role in keeping them safe from cyber threats.

Understanding ICS OT cybersecurity

ICS and OT cybersecurity is tailored around the idea that all the ICS/OT processes, identities, data, operations, systems, and networks connected with physical processes (like manufacturing) are secured from cyber threats. It is ensured through the identification and deployment of controls, measures, mechanisms, security solutions, and dedicated experts for monitoring, detecting, and responding to threats or anomalous activities. It necessitates continuous assessment of the ICS/OT infrastructure for cyber risks and addressing them with cybersecurity best practices.

To understand ICS OT cybersecurity, one must understand the different ICS/OT cybersecurity risks. The following are some of the ICS/OT cybersecurity risks:

What is an OT attack?

In an OT attack, a cybercriminal targets systems (like SCADA & PLC systems) or devices (like a sensor, control system, etc.) connected with physical processes or operations, like manufacturing, exploiting the vulnerabilities in the systems, causing massive disruption to operations. It can give unauthenticated access to the attacker, which can be leveraged to steal sensitive information like company secrets and financial information.

Common OT/ICS threats

Some of the common cyber threats and risks to OT/ICS include:

Malware and ransomware attacks
State-sponsored attackers, terrorist groups
Supply chain/third-party vulnerabilities
DDoS attacks
Poor cybersecurity hygiene
Human error/gaps like lack of awareness, training,
Insider threats (via removal of media like flash drives or HDD)

Recently, Fortinet conducted a research survey across multiple industries titled “State of Operational Technology and Cybersecurity” that highlights some of the key findings on OT/ICS cyber risks and cybersecurity. The survey identified that OT-specific intrusions have worsened across the year along with their impact.

The following are the key findings with the percentage of respondents.  

The fundamentals of OT cybersecurity

Prioritizing, planning, identifying, and implementing cybersecurity measures can ensure a healthy OT/ICS cybersecurity posture.  The following are some of the best practices of OT/ICS cybersecurity:

Segmentation

OT/ICS Cybersecurity begins with performing a comprehensive asset inventory and isolating networks from IT and the Internet into segments and zones. It will ensure the smooth implementation of network policy controls for a hardened OT environment and prevent lateral movement of threats. It is also a requirement in standards like ISA/IEC 62443.

Round-the-clock monitoring

Since cyber threats can occur anytime, round-the-clock monitoring of the OT/ICS and cybersecurity infrastructure is critical for early detection, containment, and quick response to threats so that they don’t escalate into something bigger and more challenging to contain.   

Ensuring visibility across the OT/ICS network

Establishing visibility of security operations across OT/ICS networks is vital for proactive aversion of threats and improvement of the security posture. A centralized security platform that amalgamates security solutions from different vendors and integrates easily across infrastructure helps establish visibility.  It helps address vulnerabilities across OT/ICS, along with information on severity and impact. Deploying measures like policy-aware network policies, performing system-to-system interaction analysis, and endpoint monitoring help in the early detection of compromised OT/ICS assets.

OT/ICS cybersecurity must be an integral part of Security Operations and Incident Response Plan

Organizations must integrate OT security as part of their Security Operations and Incident Response Planning because OT security has specific security requirements that must be addressed. Create OT-security-specific playbooks. It will ease collaborations between IT, security, OT, and production teams, making it easier for them to assess risks across cybersecurity and production environments. It will also improve awareness of top management, making way for prioritized budgets and allocation of people, technology, and necessary resources.

Consider a centralized platform and leverage OT threat intelligence

A centralized security platform can ease management, take the stress of management away from the team, and provide visibility of security operations with insights for high-precision action. It can address the complexity and management of multiple security solutions from different vendors and provide capabilities for automated detection and response. It will help keep up with the evolving threat landscape with timely awareness of imminent risks, the latest threats (with their variants & TTPs), and OT-specific threat information feeds.

Continuous improvement through Gap assessment and training

Performing regular security assessments is a must for continuous improvement of security. Organizations must also assess gaps in awareness of cybersecurity best practices through assessments and social engineering-based simulations for proactive detection and mitigation of awareness gaps to mitigate the risk of human error.

OT cybersecurity standards to consider

To protect the security of operations, identities, and sensitive information and uninterrupted progress, especially in critical infrastructure, regulatory bodies, and government bodies have mandated cybersecurity frameworks with industry best practices for OT/ICS security.

Here are some OT cybersecurity frameworks to consider: 