In my previous column, I talked about the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape and the escalation of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure. Some of you may be wondering: “Why should I care? Russia and other nation-states aren’t focused on me and my networks.”
If you’re a CISO at an insurance company or a medical facility or any organization where these networks aren’t critical components to your business, then you’re probably right. They probably aren’t targeting your organization specifically. But I’m sure you’re familiar with the concept of collateral damage.
The attacks on Ukraine over the last five years are a test case for how a country’s infrastructure can be disrupted and paralyzed, and how companies’ OT networks can be severely impacted. While OT networks were not the primary target, just the accidental spill-over of NotPetya from IT to OT networks, was a wake-up call. Operations came to a standstill at many companies – a powerful indicator of what the outcome could be if those attacks specifically targeted industrial networks, and a clear reason why securing OT environments should be a priority. And since the Western world didn’t have the adequate response to those attacks on Ukraine, we can expect that a more emboldened Russia will reach further, as cyber respects no geographical boundaries.
Every company in the world relies on industrial networks. For nearly half of the Fortune 2000 – in industries including oil and gas, energy, utilities, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and food and beverage – these networks are critical components to their business. While the rest rely on OT networks to run their office ..
Support the originator by clicking the read the rest link below.
