ANSWERS
OT AUTOMATION: CYBERSECURITY Amir Sobol and Yaron Pass, L&T Technology Services
Six ways to improve cybersecurity: Barriers vs. resiliency Overcome three OT/IT cybersecurity barriers and move towards cyber-resiliency in three cybersecurity steps.
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ot long ago, operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) were demarcated as separate functional areas. Digital transformation initiatives, however, are fast blurring the lines between them. As an increasing number of businesses deploy IIoT devices such as sensors, smart energy management systems and remote temperature monitors to optimize productivity and improve efficiency, the cybersecurity risks facing the OT environment continues to grow.
Cybersecurity threats increase to OT networks
Over the last decade, malware encryptions such as NotPetya, Stuxnet, Aurora, and Havex have exposed the vulnerabilities of organizations to cyber threats stemming from breaches in OT networks. The bad news is the threats are still prevalent. According to a survey conducted by Ponemon Institute and Tenable, 90% of IT security decisionmakers admitted their organizations suffered at least
one cyber-attack in the past two years. Another 66% were hit at least two times within the same period.
Cybersecurity stance in the OT applications
While IT cybersecurity has historically been concerned about data integrity, availability and confidentiality, things are slightly different in OT environments. Here, the priorities often revolve around reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety (RAMS) of mission-critical systems such as industrial control systems (ICS), supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), and distributed control systems (DCS). OT systems clearly represent distinctive cybersecurity challenges that are beyond the scope of traditional cybersecurity measures. The impact of threats associated with OT failure or malfunction needs no elaboration. It is for this reason that original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are striving to improve OT safety, reliability, and overall equipment effectiveness/ efficiency (OEE) by leveraging enterprise IT and Three measures for a cybersecurity plan and three barriers for cybersecurity implementation are shown. Courtesy: L&T Technology Services (LTTS)
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control engineering
November 2020
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