SA’s Industrial facilities at risk of cyber attacks

GECI www.geci.net

GECI is an international tactical cyber security specialist now launching its portfolio of cyber security solutions in South Africa. After Europe, GECI has chosen to expand its platform of innovative solutions in Africa, starting with South Africa where the need is clearly identified.

CYBER ATTACKS

Cyber attacks have escalated beyond theft of data and ransomware attacks, to attacks specifically designed to shut down critical infrastructure, manipulate markets and even cripple entire countries, says South African GECI representative Mike Bergen.

South African GECI representative Mike Bergen with Thuli Mgwebile business development agent at GECI South Africa and MD of local GECI partner Sinac Group

Citing attacks on major enterprises, power plants and nuclear facilities, Bergen says the increasing connectedness of industrial plants is putting them at greater risk of attack.

‘The increasing connectedness of industrial plants is putting them at greater risk of attack’

However, Thuli Mgwebile, business development agent at GECI South Africa and MD of local GECI partner Sinac Group, says early discussions with local infrastructure stakeholders indicate their focus on cyber security is inadequate. ‘For example, we see local industrial players saying their own risk assessment exercises have found a huge amount of data leakage taking place,’ she says.

SIGNIFICANT VULNERABILITIES

This, coupled with inadequate access controls at plants, presents significant vulnerabilities, which could be misused to devastating effect. In many industrial environments, IT and operations are still run in siloes, Bergen says, with cyber security a focus in the enterprise’s administration and data centres and little focus on cyber security in plant operations. ‘In many companies, Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) are two domains – engineers in the plants manage their own systems and equipment, and they consider themselves separate from IT.

Not all OT specialists are as aware as IT professionals are of the importance of cyber security. ‘Cyber war and cyber crime could happen to anyone - it’s a pandemic,’ he says.

‘Industrial facilities have done a lot to protect themselves from catastrophes, but not enough to protect themselves from cyber attacks,’ says Mgwebile. She sees cyber attack as a key risk area for resilient industrial systems.