To be competitive and support business growth, organizations relying on Operational Technology (OT) ecosystems must adopt new technologies – integrating innovations & enhancements with legacy systems to obtain increased volumes and business growth.
Organizations need to take advantage of the capabilities provided by Industry 4.0, including the integration of machine learning and automated processes into industrial processes, in order to increase productivity and reduce costs. Yet, these advances come at a price: the increased risk that comes with technical enhancements.
Strategies must be developed by Security Operations Centers (SOCs) to detect and respond to new cyber-attacks that leverage weaknesses in converged IT/OT networks - which are becoming increasingly common, as well as increasingly sophisticated.
Traditionally, the Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) ecosystems have been built in separate siloes.
IT and OT networks require entirely separate approaches with regard to safety and security. As we all know, Information technology involves computers and networks, with the primary asset being data; the primary job of IT security is to protect confidentiality. In contrast, the top priority of OT security is safety, closely followed by continuity of service.
OT networks typically involve the use of legacy hardware and software. Because they are generally deployed over a period of time, OT systems have usually resulted in a complicated ecosystem of devices, hardware, and software, industrial elements, etc.
Monitoring all the traffic within such a distributed setup, providing visibility into all devices, and protecting so many varied components is both complex and delicate - especially when considering the need to keep the system permanently operational. In contrast, an IT network can be temporarily shut down for security updates.
An important point to note here with regard to OT systems is that even a few minutes of a plant shutdown can result in huge business losses and - where the system in question supports critical services (such as a water purification plant or electricity generation, for example) - it can impact the safety of millions of people.
Historically, OT plants and systems were kept in their own silos - what we generally call “air-locked,” i.e., keeping OT systems protected from outside threats and safe from harm, and thus, ensuring that they are continuously operational.
Today, it is essential for IT security experts to align with OT security standards when the two converge.
Everything shifted about a decade ago with the advent of Industry 4.0. Integrating machine learning and automated processes into industrial technology meant connecting IT environments with OT environments - which were previously air-gapped for security reasons.
The convergence of the two systems became even more necessary as technology improved. As the need for interconnectivity increased, this convergence opened OT systems to many more cyber threats - increasing the criticality of OT security, as cybersecurity breaches became more common particularly in OT-oriented organizations such as manufacturers and centers providing critical services. Thus, cybersecurity measures to protect OT systems developed in response to the ongoing evolution of Industry 4.0.
Today, it is essential for IT security experts to align with OT security standards when the two converge. Likewise, those working in OT security must adopt IT security protocols. The convergence of IT and OT – which allows organizations to streamline processes, improving efficiency, and saving money – is expected to become almost universal, and therefore, it is no longer logical to view these systems as discrete or independent.
As the need for interconnectivity increased, this convergence opened OT systems to many more cyber threats - increasing the criticality of OT security.
At the same time, integrating OT and IoT security into the mandate of security operations involves much more than simply extending IT security solutions and staff responsibilities to include industrial networks. The convergence requires someone with the experience and skills to support both the transition and the ongoing operations.
Before you can even start planning to integrate OT and IT security monitoring, it’s essential to secure the OT environment. Securing the OT environment involves reviewing that your processes and security controls are in place, and you have technologies that can help monitor, detect, and mitigate possible security attacks. But perhaps most importantly, you must ensure that the people in your organization are well trained regarding security processes and are aware of the workflows to be followed in case of an attack.
Paying attention to securing the OT environment has become particularly important more recently, for the following reasons:
You must ensure that the people in your organization are well trained regarding security processes and are aware of the workflows to be followed in case of an attack.
Organizations set up SOCs to prevent, detect, and respond to cyber threats and incidents. Often, having a SOC also fulfills regulatory requirements.
On the IT side, we are long accustomed to building and running SOCs. And now, many organizations have started extending SOC capabilities to the OT side of the business, as well, and are running an integrated IT/OT SOC. This can be helpful in the following ways:
Some advanced MSSPs, such as CyberProof, work with leading OT security product companies such as Radiflow. Here at CyberProof, we have helped several of our customers build an integrated IT/OT SOC using our SOC service delivery platform – the CyberProof Defense Center (CDC) Platform - which provides a single screen view to both IT & OT Security Operations. Typically, our high-level architecture includes:
Typical integrated architecture of an IT/OT SOC
Advanced MSSPs like CyberProof can provide organizations with services for an integrated IT/OT SOC such as:
The CyberProof Defense Center (CDC) Platform provides a single screen view to both IT & OT Security Operations.
Moreover, advanced MSSPs play a key role as more applications, service and infrastructure migrate to the cloud. SOC teams are increasingly adopting solutions like Microsoft Azure Sentinel and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint – and working with an expert team in integrating all of the various aspects of your security operations allows you to reduce the time to respond and mitigate the damage that could be caused by an attack.
Interested in learning how the CyberProof’s experts can help your organization integrate your IT and OT SOC? View our datasheet or contact us today!