The industrial sector is becoming a highly attractive target for bad actors, with industry (including construction) adding 28% to the global GDP value in 2022. The sector’s “security by obscurity” mindset – where enterprises assume they are hidden from attack – makes it even more vulnerable to cybercriminals. We’ve also seen that automation assets are easy to attack, and that industrial enterprises are plagued by high-severity incidents, with ingenious APT groups capable of causing severe disruption. This can prove disastrous for an organization’s reputation, finances and legal standing – especially when business continuity is affected – and may have a significant social impact.
Protecting both IT and OT assets is therefore key. However, using disparate solutions from numerous vendors isn’t the solution. It is too expensive and lacks the cohesion required for organizational asset visibility. Industrial enterprises should instead seek to converge their IT and OT security functions and move towards a single SOC, which will unify asset data sources and improve threat monitoring and response.
Download this whitepaper to find out the scope of threats facing the sector and why it’s crucial to implement sufficient protection for both IT and automation systems. Join the APAC Kaspersky Online Conference on 10 October 2024 to find out more.