Report outlines the state of OT security

Industrial operations are increasingly under threat from cybercriminals, with over 76% of UK organisations falling victim to cyber-attacks according to a recent report from ABI Research and Palo Alto Networks. A staggering 26.9% of UK industrial firms reported having to shut down their operations at least once in the past year due to a successful attack.

Cyber-attacks on industrial organisations aren’t just becoming more common; frequency has also increased with 76% of UK respondents reporting attacks happening on a monthly, weekly and even daily basis.

Cybersecurity has been pushed to the top of the agenda for most industrial operators, especially in light of increasing regulatory pressure around manufacturing with Acts like the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PSTI) Act coming into force later in April this year.

Organisations continue to struggle with implementing proper cybersecurity frameworks largely due to a lack of alignment between IT (Information Technologies) and OT (Operational Technologies) teams. Given that the bulk of OT attacks are IT-borne (72%), this disconnect is a major problem.

Improving cybersecurity for industrial operations requires bridging the gap between OT and IT. Most respondents (77%) expect there will be increased regulatory pressure over the next two years to protect OT environments; two-thirds anticipate more internal pressure to come from boards of directors.

The need for stronger cybersecurity in OT isn’t in dispute as cyber-attacks grow in both volume and sophistication. Addressing this challenge requires coordination and consolidation between IT and OT teams. The two teams can’t work in isolation. OT and IT security are intrinsically linked and that requires breaking down the traditional silos and creating a cooperative approach.