Industrial Cybersecurity Challenges and Solutions

Industrial Cybersecurity Challenges continue to grow for the industrial community.   Broader deployment of operational technology is expanding the use cases requiring protection.  Resource shortages are undermining the effectiveness of established defenses.  Blurring boundaries between IT, OT and IoT are increasing the need for more integrated, collaborative cybersecurity strategies.  

integrated-it-ot-iot-cybersecurity-350p2x.gifIndustrial Cybersecurity Challenges

Industrial plants and infrastructure systems need secure control systems to ensure safe, reliable operation.  Widespread use of operational technologies in smart cities presents a similar challenge.  Compromised systems jeopardize citizen safety, business continuity, and effective delivery of critical government services like water and sewage.  To avoid such incidents, smart city planners need people who understand operational technology and the associated security challenges.  Leveraging the experiences of the industrial cybersecurity community is essential. 

Cybersecurity challenges are also increasing within traditional plants and infrastructure systems.  Many plants still lack the resources to sustain defenses or proper strategies to enable external support.  Deployment of IIoT strategies is proceeding without real solutions for critical issues like secure-by-design-devices and secure supply/support chains.  Growing use of cloud-based solutions are undermining the ability of in-house teams to govern security practices.  Segregating cybersecurity efforts by technology is no longer a sustainable approach.  Organizations need to develop new integrated strategies that combine IT, OT, and IoT security efforts and maximize use of all corporate cybersecurity resources.  

On top of that Cybersecurity technology is moving fast.  There are more choices than ever in technology, techniques, deployment architectures, and service providers.  ARC analysts follow all aspects of Cybersecurity technology for Industry and Infrastructure.  If you are faced with a strategic decision, and want to know the best practices, leading solutions or current issues, then you need to engage with ARC.

The market for industrial cybersecurity products and services continues to evolve, develop and expand.  Increased awareness of cyber risks, governmental actions, and more comprehensive regulations have driven the development of new solutions and a new cadre of suppliers.  Recognizing these developments, ARC has expanded the breadth and depth of its ongoing coverage of this dynamic market.  Click here for our suite of cybersecurity research.  ARC has recently completed research related to: 

Anomaly and Breach Detection

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The market for industrial cybersecurity products and services continues to evolve, develop and expand.  Increased awareness of cyber risks, governmental actions, and more comprehensive regulations have driven the development of new solutions and a new cadre of suppliers.  Recognizing these developments, ARC has expanded the breadth and depth of its ongoing coverage of this dynamic market. 

Endpoint Protection Solutions

Endpoint protection is a central focus of every industrial cybersecurity strategy.  Despite the known limitations, most industrial companies still use anti-malware software wherever possible in their control systems.  Some also use application whitelisting.  Automation companies are like-wise applying these security products in their control systems. 

The endpoint protection solutions used in control systems are generally the same as those used for corporate IT.  However, the application of these products is more constrained.   Industrial users also have unique challenges in maintaining malware signatures, etc.  These differences im-pact the features industrial users want and the value they place on the new developments occurring in the endpoint protection market.  

Industrial Cybersecurity Management Solutions

Industrial cybersecurity management solutions include a broad range of products for maintaining a facility’s security posture.  This is a distinct segment of the overall cybersecurity management solutions market, distinguished by the unique features of industrial automation equipment and the need to respect stringent constraints on system updates and network communications.      

Industrial Network Security

Industrial network security solutions include a broad range of products for protecting plants, networks, and endpoint assets.  This is a distinct segment of the overall networking products market, distinguished by the unique requirements of systems that control critical industrial assets and infrastructure.  This market segment is also distinguished by its focus on operational safety and availability, as opposed to the conventional IT focus on information privacy and confidentiality.  

Industrial Cybersecurity Services

Industrial companies are looking for a variety of cybersecurity services to ensure the security of their automation and SCADA systems.  These in-clude:

  • Assessment Services – initial and ongoing audits of plant defenses and programs relative to internal or established standards
  • Implementation Services – design and implementation of defensive technologies and programs to mitigate cyber risks
  • Managed Services – monitoring and maintenance support to sustain defenses and deal with cyber incidents 
     

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