Critical Infrastructure to face challenges

Critical infrastructure spans, involves many remote sites, and requires multiple networks with complex software and hardware needs. The sheer size and ambit of these systems offers hackers many exploitable entry points.

Critical infrastructure providers are facing an unprecedented challenge and the beanpoles are high. Preventing attacks and protecting critical infrastructure requires a zestful security perimeter surrounding Industrial Control Systems, IT and OT networks and SCADA systems in addition to the employees and operators. These futuristic threats necessitate a layered, risk-based approach towards cybersecurity. Securing critical infrastructure from cyberattacks takes more than upholding a critical- infrastructure assets, it requires an understanding of the incentives of all those stakeholders and then shaping them.

In critical infrastructure sectors, the motive of working together is not new, and the concept of “collective vindication” is well-known in cyber circles. So, what is standing in the way of progress toward that vision of defending collaboratively? The very incentives that push and pull the different players involved.

Reducing attackers’ motivation to attack is difficult, but given the relatively finite set of attacks, it can often still be preferable to trying to secure the near-infinite attack surface of today’s critical infrastructure. Our map of incentives in the cyber domain shows that mitigate and intelligence organizations have two main levers to influence attacker motivations: They can disrupt the confidence of attackers by “defending forward” in the digital domain or they can reduce the perceived legitimacy of attacks by using influence operations in the cognitive domain. 

To nostrum this, the full societal cost of potential attacks needs to be built back into infrastructure possessors’ computations. One way to reflect the true societal cost of cyberattacks is to penalize those who fail to meet basic security standards. For example, the Federal Trade Commission recently warned companies to patch the Log4j vulnerability or face legal actions, including penalties. Another way is to clinch that product such as cyber insurance reflect the true cost of attack and recovery. Rising cyber insurance costs that reflect the massive costs of responding to cyberattacks may help encourage infrastructure owners to invest more in cyber mitigate. Further, some insurers also require organizations to adhere to baseline security practices to prevent the attack or reduce disruption in case of an attack. Unsurprisingly, the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to cyber-attacks and technical failures has become a big concern. And fears have been given credence by recent events.

Cyber Threat plea has been a valuable partner in securing our software. Their outside the box perspective has pointed us attack scenarios that we are now paying more attention to. They will certainly improve the level of security in your company.

By compromising organizations within critical infrastructure sectors, threat actors, such as ransomware groups, are assured of hefty ransom payouts because of the impact of their exploit. Furthermore, when attackers remotely access, control, and command a targeted system, they can cause significant disturbance to critical processes that otherwise benefit ordinary people and entire governments. Therefore, cyberattacks on a critical infrastructure could lead to operational disruption and total system shutdown. The challenges associated with critical infrastructure protection can be divided into several categories; however, in this article, we shall focus on supply chain security-based, digital transformation-based, and human element-based challenges.

Today’s critical infrastructures are connected to global digital ecosystems that allow greater visibility, control, management, and overall convenience. However, one of the most challenging aspects of managing critical infrastructures that interface with emerging technologies before, during, and after a digital transformation process is the lack of proper security gap assessments. The control systems that function within critical infrastructures are inherently vulnerable to today’s sophisticated cyber operations due to the legacy structure of their operating system and the fragility of their hardware and software architecture. Therefore, introducing newer tools and technologies into legacy computing environments without proper security risk assessments produces risks that could most likely impact operational functionality and business continuity.

Employees play a critical role in the prevention of cyber threats. Keeping them up-to-date on the threat landscape and equipping them with the right cybersecurity tools and technologies is paramount. This particular point also highlights the importance of sharing threat and incident information with other government and private organizations operating in the critical sectors. Forewarned is forearmed; organizations can better prepare for cyber threats that are known and understood.

Our Professional Services teams are experienced OT professionals who understand the unique security requirements of complex industrial networks and will cushion  your network using a standards-based approach, thus helping you ensure regulatory compliance .