Josh Blume Tue Jan 9

The Survival Guide for ICS Cyber Security

In 2015, the BlackEnergy trojan was used to attack the Ivano­Frankivsk power station in West Ukraine and knocked out electricity in 80,000 homes. The bug was delivered via spear phishing emails, disguised as a Microsoft Office attachment from the Ukrainian parliament, and had the ability to delete critical system files and specifically sabotage industrial systems.

With the increasing frequency of malware outbreaks, cyber security for industrial control systems (ICSs) – such as energy, chemical, oil and gas, and other manufacturing markets – has become a pressing issue. And according to a study done by the Kaspersky Lab, the threat has only increased – nearly 40% of industrial computers experienced cyberattacks in the second half of 2016. 

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Cyberattacks on ICSs have only been increasing as hackers get smarter and industrial networks become more complex, so a solid cyber security strategy is needed to protect your factory productivity, assets, and even employees.

Developing a solid security system is extremely important in this day and age, especially as ICS networks are expanding to include greater automation and IIoT technology. Based on the defense in depth model and our extensive hands-on experience with ICS networks, we’ve put together a short list of very practical, high-level action items for the control systems engineer or superintendent in charge of managing cyber security. Our latest whitepaper walks you through the five stages for protecting your industrial network, including:

  1. Discover: you can’t protect what you don’t understand
  2. Assess: identify potential weaknesses with a vulnerability assessment
  3. Act: develop and execute an actionable plan that fits your company’s needs
  4. Monitor: install a system capable of detecting and stopping breaches
  5. Maintain: schedule regular maintenance to protect against the latest threats

The goal of this whitepaper is to present you with low-hanging fruit (and some high-hanging ones) that you can tackle right now in order to strengthen your ICS. If you have questions, get the help you need from an experienced industrial cyber security expert like Vertech. 

Read the White Paper

 

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