New Research Highlights Rising OT Security Risks in Industrial Networks

A recent white paper through Palo Alto Networks and Siemens Sheds light on the climbing cyber security riss associated with SCADA and Operational Technology (OT) Devices Exhibition for the public internet. As IT and OT systems are interconnected with mutually interconnected, critical infrastructure is confronted with highly vulnerabilities, which may lead to serious operational disruptions and infringements of security.

Most important findings:

• Production is the most Getarging sector: 82.7% of the internal exploitation points only took place in the production industry.
• Emerging threats are not identified: 79.9% of the detected malware in OT networks was classified as unknown, which emphasizes the growing challenge to identify and reduce new cyber threat.
• Aging vulnerabilities remain a high risk: 61.9% of exploittriggers in OT networks were due to vulnerabilities that were 6-10 years old, and emphasized the importance of timely patching.
• Remote operation is a leading attack vector: Attacks aimed at external services that were accouted for 20% of all security incidents in OT networks.

Expansion of the attack surface in OT networks

In 2023, more than 1.25 million SCADA and OT devices were exposed to the internet, which considerably increases the risk of cyber attacks that influence Esial Services. Improved fingerprint techniques introduced in March – April 2023 revealed a wider scope of vulnerable devices, in particular within SCADA and construction control systems. These insights underline the need for stricter security measures in OT environments.

Attacks and vulnerabilities in industry

An analysis of 51,000 OT firewalls using Palo Alto Networks App-ID ™ has assigned cyber attacks to the Miter ATT & CK® matrix for ICS, in which important tactics are identified such as initial access, movement area and private methods that are used by accepters. Industries that run the most risk include production, energy and retail, where poor network segmentation and incorrect configurations further expand attack surfaces.

Recommendations for strengthening security

To reduce the risks, the proactive cyber security strategy must assume, including:

• Improved security checks To detect and prevent advanced threats.
• Stronger network segmentation to a lateral limit movement and minimizing the attack impact.
• Continuous monitoring and real -time threat detection To improve the reaction times and resilience against emerging cyber threats.

As cyber threats are focused on critical infrastructure, a robust, adaptive approach to OT security is essential for safe -industrial systems.

Visit to access the full report Here.

News source: Wallis PR