Industrial Cybersecurity Pulse’s top 5 articles from July 2023 covered the riskiest operational technology (OT) devices on the plant floor, how artificial intelligence (AI) will impact cybersecurity and the challenges facing information technology (IT)/OT convergence. Here is our top-performing content from the past month.
1. Podcast Ep. 30: Carlos Buenaño on the Riskiest OT/ICS Devices
By Gary Cohen and Tyler Wall, CFE Media and Technology
Armis recently released research identifying the riskiest devices to the key critical infrastructure industries of manufacturing, utilities and transportation. And they’re not exactly easy to avoid. So which OT/ICS devices should you be watching out for in your environment? On the Industrial Cybersecurity Pulse Podcast, Carlos Buenaño of Armis talked to us about the new research, the impact of the extended Internet of Things (XIoT) and how to defend your systems.
2. Podcast Ep. 29: Ethan Schmertzler on How AI Will Impact Cybersecurity
By Gary Cohen and Tyler Wall, CFE Media and Technology
Artificial intelligence is changing the nature of cybersecurity for both the defenders and the attackers. The attackers will be able to create more effective social engineering attacks, while the defenders will be able to routinize repetitive monitoring tasks. This week, Ethan Schmertzler of Dispel joined the ICS Pulse Podcast to discuss the future of AI in cybersecurity, the ethical considerations around AI and AI’s scary impact on social engineering attacks.
3. Risks and challenges confronting IT/OT convergence and how to manage them
By Luis Narvaez, Siemens
IT/OT convergence in today’s interconnected industrial landscape is vital for maximizing efficiency. However, the ongoing trend toward convergence brings significant cybersecurity challenges. To effectively manage and reduce these risks, IT and OT teams must collaborate closely, leveraging their specialties to ensure comprehensive security. For example, IT specialists bring PC security and defense expertise, while the OT team brings hardware savvy crucial for the factory floor.
4. The riskiest OT and ICS devices across critical infrastructure industries
By Armis Security
Armis recently released new research identifying the riskiest OT/ICS devices that pose threats to key critical infrastructure industries. Data analyzed from the Armis Asset Intelligence and Security Platform, which tracks over 3 billion assets, found that the OT and ICS devices that present the highest risk to these industries are engineering workstations, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) servers, automation servers, historians and programmable logic controllers (PLCs).
5. How to support plant floor digital safety with OT managed services
By Jim Cook, Velta Technology
The ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats poses a significant risk to businesses operating control systems critical to production, which can jeopardize both safety and operations. To build cyber and operational resilience and mitigate these risks, the concept of managed services for OT has emerged. This can provide continuous monitoring support and enhanced security for ICS. In IT, managed services have become commonplace, but when it comes to OT, this level of monitoring and support has been less prevalent.
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