Industrial Cybersecurity Pulse

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Managing external connections to your operational technology (OT) environment

Dragos recently published the Dragos 2021 Year In Review report, which highlighted four key findings within the operational technology (OT) cyber threat landscape. This blog continues the…

SwRI used programmable logic controllers (PLCs) connected to input/output (I/O) modules to a test network. Algorithms scanned the network for cyberattacks through data packets transferred over the Modbus/TCP protocol. Courtesy: Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)

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IDS developed for industrial control systems

Southwest Research Institute has developed technology to help government and industry detect cyber threats to industrial networks used in critical infrastructure and manufacturing systems.…

Six key constituents can drive targeted solutions to the ICS environment: 1. Audit and application of security policies and procedures; 2. Access controls with secure data transfers; 3. Threat detection of abnormal and malicious activity at all levels of the ICS infrastructure; 4. Risk management and mitigation; 5. Process sensors security and authentication; and 6. Resolution of key security problems that requires intrinsic relationship with vendors. Courtesy: MG Strategy+, Control Engineering

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Six critical components of integrated cybersecurity for industrial control systems (ICS)

Learning Objectives Examine six ways to approach industrial cybersecurity. Look at internal and external industrial cybersecurity threats, without silos. Learn that legacy process sensors lack…

Figure 1: To determine effectiveness and maturity, take a particular control and plot the effectiveness score on the Y-axis of a graph and the DMS on the X-axis of the graph. By seeing which quadrant the result falls into, people can quickly make some general statements about the systems under consideration. Courtesy: Maverick Technologies

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Securing the ICS: Measure solution effectiveness, maturity

Many articles focused on cybersecurity stress how important it is to secure an industrial control system (ICS) and share ways to implement this security. In this article, the assumption is…

elliTek's IIoTA MES Gateway Appliance. Courtesy: elliTek

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Cybersecurity and IT/OT convergence: How important is your data?

Manufacturers are under pressure to provide remote access and real-time data streams, while hoping keeping their facilities secure. While many have jumped in with reckless abandon, those…

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NERC CIP checklist for identification and categorization of BES cyber assets

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) maintains the critical infrastructure protection (CIP) security standards. These protocols coordinate security practices for major…

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How serial-to-Ethernet converters help attackers breach cyber-physical assets

In industrial automation, serial-to-Ethernet converters/gateways and serial device servers are a widely used method for enabling remote communications and monitoring of devices that only…

Many wonder where to start when attempting to protect embedded systems in OT cybersecurity? Here are some great places to start.

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An overlooked ICS cybersecurity gap for companies

Cyber attacks on critical infrastructure’s industrial control systems (ICS) are still on the rise due, for the most part, to the increase in cybercrime and geopolitical tensions – tensions…

Figure 4: The risk management cycle, and incorporation of Industry 4.0 goals for security controls implementation. Courtesy: Grantek

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Upgrading industrial PC cybersecurity in manufacturing

Learning Objectives Cybersecurity attacks against manufacturers and other industrial sites are growing every year. When developing a cybersecurity plan, is best to look at it through the lens…

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Three benefits of a 360-degree vulnerability assessment

Defending critical infrastructure environments requires 360-degree visibility into asset and network vulnerabilities, which is why a vulnerability assessment is so important. Vulnerability…