You Should be scared: ICS Security
Many cyber security professionals fear a real attack from organized criminals. And for a good reason. Criminals use tactics to get their hands on confidential information, including social engineering and techniques for capturing logins. These are similar to ICS-CERT's tactics to counter cyber-attacks against critical infrastructures and industrial control systems across the country.
Industrial Control Systems (ICS) are regularly exposed to various security risks. These risks are becoming more sophisticated in the modern digital age. In the first half of 2021, 8% of ICS computers were hacked, which was 0.4% (p.p.) more than in the second half of 2020.
At the same time, the industrial world's reliance on control systems keeps increasing. This makes it more crucial than ever to ensure you comprehend the significance of industrial cyber security and keep a close eye on new security trends and dangers.
What is ICS Security?
The defense of industrial control systems against attacks from online attackers is called ICS security. ICS typically refers to techniques that manage and run essential services, including water, power, transportation, manufacturing, and other infrastructure-supporting activities. Due to the rising digitization of every aspect of commercial and public activity, these systems often rely on software, computers, endpoints, and networks. These components must all be protected to ensure the safety of the systems and the people they serve.
ICS security includes a variety of techniques, such as:
Asset tracking and identification
Detection and prevention of network intrusions
Access and user management
Detection and response at the endpoint
Patch control
Management of vulnerabilities
ICS security is concerned about:
Ensuring that processes and equipment are running efficiently.
Protecting and securing industrial control systems, the hardware and software used to run and operate machinery, and other equipment used in factories and other industrial businesses.
Ensuring that the data and information displayed on the dashboards and screens in the control room are accurate and reflect what is occurring in the plant or on the production floor.
State of ICS Security Attacks
Attacks on ICS are increasing. Researchers discovered that between 2018 and 2020, the number of cyberattacks on ICS and OT assets of businesses surged by more than 2,000%. Many featured hostile actors attempting to take advantage of SCADA asset vulnerabilities. They also included initiatives to carry out brute force login-based password spraying assaults.
Attacks by ransomware on an organization's ICS are particularly common. By 2020, they were responsible for 23% of security incidents in the industrial sector. ICS vulnerabilities were also 49% more common in 2020 than they were in 2019, according to Industrial Cyber.
Why do we Need ICS Security?
Because of the attacks on these systems and the serious financial, operational, and safety repercussions of a compromise, ICS security is essential. But why do we require a different security category to deal with these systems? Why not simply duplicate our IT security practices?
For starters, the gadgets pose difficulties for conventional IT security procedures and equipment.
Specific control systems and knowledge are needed to secure ICS safely and with operational resilience. This rare combination is even more scarce than the already overstretched IT security resources.
Why is ICS Security a Challenge for Organizations?
IoT is quickly becoming an area of concern for ICS. The growth of IoT devices and their adoption in industrial environments has increased the risk of attacks on industrial control systems (ICS). ICS security is a challenge for organizations because of the following reasons:
Cost of ICS Security Services
ICS are expensive to maintain and secure because they are not designed with cybersecurity. They were built decades ago with limited security features and capabilities. As a result, they are more vulnerable to cyber attacks than traditional IT systems because their design makes them difficult to secure properly. The costs associated with securing their networks can be high because they need specialized staff who understand how these systems work and how best to protect them from hackers and other threats.
Legacy Systems in ICS
Another major challenge faced by organizations today is their legacy systems which have been built over decades, and nobody knows where they all are located. No central database lists all these systems, so data gathering becomes an issue.
ICS vs. IT Security
ICS security is challenging because the ICS environment is different from traditional IT environments. Unlike IT systems, ICS systems are not designed to be connected to other systems over the internet.
Since ICS are isolated from other networks, it’s difficult for organizations to detect intrusions or malware infections until it’s too late.
How To Improve ICS Security?
A comprehensive ICS security platform that addresses threat detection, risk management, and mitigation is required to protect your industrial control system from cyber-attacks.
Selecting an ICS-specific security solution that offers the following features is the key to enhancing ICS security:
Whether at the network's periphery or in the IT network, such as the data center and cloud facilities, asset management and threat detection tools that use Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) to help prioritize concerns against heavy traffic patterns are available.
Insight into particular industrial processes and IoT devices. This level of specificity is required to spot unusual activity patterns that might point to a threat or incursion.
Rapid vulnerability discovery, IoT endpoints and asset visibility correlation with known vulnerability databases. This will aid in prioritizing remedial efforts and greatly simplify the management of security vulnerabilities.
Conclusion
Industrial enterprises may safeguard their ICS systems by concentrating on security fundamentals. Purchasing a security solution that enables them to profile all of their industrial assets, monitor the health of their network and systems, fortify those assets against plant disruptions, and regularly conduct granular vulnerability assessments to assess the cybersecurity of their ICS is one way they can achieve this.