There is a commonly held and dated misconception that a successful cyber attack can only cause damage to or steal information and data. But with increased interconnectedness and the rise of the Internet of Things, a different type of cyber threat exists with an even more sinister motive to physically damage critical civilian infrastructure and potentially cause serious injury or death.
These attacks focus on controlling operational technology (OT), which is the hardware and software assets organisations use to control physical processes.
Once these assets have been compromised, attackers can manipulate machinery remotely. These industrial cyber attacks can have far more catastrophic consequences than a data breach, such as system failures, leakages or even explosions. For the transport sector, that may result in train collisions, loss of speed controls, or even failures in barrier operations. For the oil and gas sector, it could actualise in the overfilling of a tank, overheating of a unit or the spillage of hazardous raw materials.
In our annual 2022 ICS/OT Cybersecurity Year in Review, Dragos reported the highest number of vulnerabilities affecting industrial control systems (ICS) and OT, totalling 2,170 individual CVEs in the year. This represents a 27% increase compared to 2021 and points to a worrying trend of future attacks on industrial infrastructure.
Much is at stake if OT environments are compromised in industries like mining, utilities, oil and gas, transportation, and manufacturing. That’s why ICS/OT cybersecurity is fundamental to protecting and securing critical infrastructure and ensuring the safety of employees and the broader community.
A sophisticated platform created for a malicious purpose
An example of such a threat was recently uncovered within a series of alleged contracts between the Russian company NTC Vulkan and the Russian Ministry of Defense. Th ..
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