n NEWS A GLOBAL SURVEY of cyberattacks on industrial control systems (ICSs) and/or operational technology (OT) operations, has found that more than half (60%) are led by state-affiliated “actors” and that about a third are unintentionally enabled by internal personnel. The survey, commissioned by Rockwell Automation, was conducted by the US-based Cyentia Institute, which analysed 122 cybersecurity events where OT and ICS operations were compromised. It collected nearly 100 data points for each incident. The survey reveals that OT/ICS security incidents are increasing in volume and frequency, and are targeting critical infrastructure, such as energy producers. Of the incidents studied, 60% resulted in operational disruption and 40% resulted in unauthorised access or data exposure. Broader supply chains were also impacted 65% of the time. Key findings of the report, called Anatomy of 100+ Cybersecurity Incidents in Industrial Operations, include: n In more than half (53%) of OT/ICS incidents, Scada (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems are targeted, with PLCs being the nextmost-common target (on 22%). n The number of OT/ICS cybersecurity incidents in the past three years has already exceeded the total number reported between 1991-2000. n Threats are most intensely focused on the energy sector (where 39% of attacks occurred) – more three times as many as the next most frequently attacked sectors, critical manufacturing (11%) and transportation (10%). n Phishing remains the most popular form of attack (34%), emphasising the importance of preventative measures such as segmentation, airgapping, zero trust and security awareness training. n More than 80% of threats come from outside organisations, but insiders play an unintentional role in opening the door for attackers in around a third of incidents. The research suggests that strengthening the security of IT systems is crucial to combatting cyberattacks on critical infrastructure and manufacturing facilities. More than 80% of the OT/ICS incidents analysed started with an IT system being compromised, demonstrating the increased interconnectivity across IT and OT systems and applications. www.rockwellautomation.com/ en-us/campaigns/cyentiareport NEW RESEARCH HAS FOUND around 100,000 industrial control systems (ICSs) globally that are exposed to the public Intenet. This could allow attackers to take control of plants, potentially causing disruption, threatening safety and compromising data and intellectual property. The study, by the cybersecurity firm Bitsight, found exposed organisations in 96 countries, including some blue chip businesses. It investigated systems that were communicating via common ICS protocols including Modbus, EtherNet/IP, Codesys, BACnet and S7. Although there has been a steady decline in the number of Internet-facing ICSs since 2019, when a similar Bitsight survey found 135,000 exposed systems, the company warns that there is still a significant risk to organisations and their partners. Survey blames state ‘actors’ for 60% of industrial cyberattacks 100,000 ICSs are exposed to Internet
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