Many industrial organizations are just beginning to address the cybersecurity of their Operating Technology (OT) systems. These systems, which are essential to critical infrastructure, often suffer from inadequate visibility and resources needed for comprehensive risk assessment and remediation. Traditional manual or qualitative assessment methods fall short in OT environments due to several significant challenges:
Limited Visibility: OT personnel often lack the necessary knowledge and tools to fully understand the cybersecurity landscape of their systems.
Inadequate Resources: Many organizations do not have dedicated cybersecurity teams or sufficient resources to conduct comprehensive assessments.
Risk of Disruption: Traditional IT security tools can be harmful when applied to OT systems. For example, running a Nessus scan could render Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) or barcode printers inoperable.
Lack of Actionable Solutions: Traditional assessments typically identify gaps but fail to provide practical steps for remediation.
High Costs and Time Consumption: Traditional assessments are expensive and time-consuming, especially in distributed industrial environments.
THE OPPORTUNITY FOR CHANGE
To tackle these challenges, a three-phase approach to OT/ICS cybersecurity assessments is recommended. This strategy is tailored to meet the specific needs of industrial environments and aims to deliver actionable insights for enhancing security posture.
CONDUCT INTERVIEWS AND DATA REVIEW
The first phase involves conducting detailed interviews with key personnel and reviewing all available data. This helps in:
- Understanding the specific operational context and security needs of each site.
- Gathering initial insights into potential vulnerabilities and areas of concern.
TECHNOLOGY-ENABLED VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT
In the second phase, a technology-enabled assessment is conducted to ensure a comprehensive and safe evaluation of the OT environment. This phase involves several critical steps:
Operational Safety:
Using OT-specific solutions minimizes the risk of disrupting operations. These solutions are designed to work seamlessly within OT environments without causing downtime or affecting system performance.
360-Degree Risk Perspective:
The assessment captures a full, 360-degree view of the site's asset inventory and potential threat vectors.
Key information gathered includes:
- Rogue Asset Discovery: Identifying assets not included in the current inventory.
- Software Review: Checking for risky applications, such as unauthorized remote access tools.
- Firmware and Software Vulnerabilities: Identifying known vulnerabilities (CVEs) and potential attack paths.
- Patch Status: Assessing whether critical patches are missing.
- User Accounts: Identifying dormant accounts that could be exploited.
- Configuration Settings: Comparing settings to standards like DISA-STIG.
- Security Software Status: Ensuring key software such as backups and antivirus are in place and functional.
- Network Connections: Evaluating network configurations for potential security weaknesses.
- This comprehensive view enables organizations to prioritize remediation efforts effectively.
Enterprise Visibility:
- Data from assessments is aggregated into a centralized reporting console, providing a clear view of risks across all sites.
- This centralized approach facilitates efficient analysis, planning, and implementation of remediation measures.
Accelerated Security Improvement:
- Unlike traditional methods that merely identify problems, this approach enables rapid remediation.