Emerson will offer Nozomi Networks’ advanced solutions for industrial control system cyber resiliency and real-time operational visibility to customers worldwide. The agreement combines Nozomi Networks’ industry-leading OT & IoT security and visibility capabilities with Emerson’s DeltaV distributed control system (DCS), consulting, and professional services.

“By teaming with Nozomi Networks, Emerson is enhancing our customers’ immediate access to OT network visibility, security, and asset intelligence that integrates seamlessly with our DeltaV DCS and is fully supported by the Emerson Cybersecurity Services organization,” said Alexandre Peixoto, Cybersecurity Business Director of Emerson’s Process Systems and Software business.

“We are teaming with Emerson to address the growing cybersecurity concerns that are an everyday reality for modern automation processes,” said Nozomi Networks CEO Edgard Capdevielle.

Nozomi Networks’ full suite of OT and IoT cybersecurity solutions is now available globally through Emerson.

The post Emerson and Nozomi Establish Agreement to Secure Critical Industrial Processes appeared first on The Integrator.

By Rick Peters, Fortinet

For years, operational technology (OT) systems have been working to control everything from factories to transportation networks to utilities. The reality is most citizens don’t think about these systems until there is a problem. That is why the attack against Colonial Pipeline in May 2021 was so startling. The attack on a segment of the enterprise transcended IT and resulted in a temporary but severe disruption of the OT based fuel supplies and led the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to issue an advisory urging critical infrastructure (CI) asset owners and operators to take on a heightened state of awareness.

Rick Peters, CISO Operational Technology, Fortinet

Unfortunately, the attack against Colonial Pipeline isn’t the first or last time an adversarial cyberattack on an OT target will make headlines. Malicious cyberattacks are likely to increase given the opportunities for mission impact, social anxiety, and profit that disrupting systems and stealing intellectual property from OT and IT systems represent.

OT cyber events also have demonstrated the consequence of failing to invest and commit proportionally to a cybersecurity strategy. For years OT system owners relied on the “air gap” that separated OT systems from IT to protect them. But as more and more OT organizations digitally connect OT infrastructures such as supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems with IT networks, the resulting evaporation of the air gap has dramatically increased the level of risk. Given this situation, it is not a surprise that in the “2021 State of Operational Technology and Cybersecurity Report” 9 out of 10 OT organizations experienced at least one intrusion in the past year and 63% had three or more intrusions.

To protect cyber-physical assets, OT organizations need to commit to a proactive cybersecurity strategy, paying particular attention to visibility, control, and behavior analysis. It’s critical to protect every point of connection to the outside world to proactively safeguard OT.

OT Is No Longer a Niche Exploit

In the past, exploits against SCADA or industrial control systems (ICS) were viewed as an infrequent subset of highly structured and often nation-state-sponsored targeted attacks. But the OT market is expected to continue to grow through 2027 at a CAGR of 6.40%. Relying on obscurity as a defense strategy doesn’t work anymore; it’s practically an invitation to cybercriminals to penetrate and ultimately compromise OT systems. Although IT-related exploits are still more prevalent, according to the Global Threat Landscape Report from FortiGuard Labs, a growing number of exploits are targeting OT. The long-held perception that ICS exploits are an obscure niche of the cyber threat landscape is simply no longer the case.

Why Now?

In the past, OT attacks were the domain of specialized threat actors who knew how to exploit ICS and SCADA systems. But now, many of those tools are being packaged as attack kits on the dark web, so they are available to a much broader set of less technical attackers. The motivations behind the attacks are ranging from gaining a profit through extortion, stealing intellectual property to simply testing infrastructure resilience. The attacks offer a side benefit in that they create a climate of uncertainty and can force actions by executives in the government and commercial sector. The headlines generated from a successful attack on OT infrastructure only serve to amplify these effects.

The Need for Better Visibility

The rapid expansion in the threat landscape and the increase in attacks demonstrate the increased need for integration between enterprise solutions and operational infrastructure. In most cases, security considerations need to extend to on-premise systems and extend to the Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices. It’s also important to have an infrastructure control strategy that restricts and contains suspicious activity and behavior. At a minimum, organizations should implement zero-trust network access (ZTNA), which limits user or device access to only those resources required to perform a specific role or function. ZTNA also strictly limits the range and level of engagement, which serves to restrict an activity if a system is compromised.

OT organizations that put comprehensive security policies in place give themselves an advantage over threat actors and can limit the impact of a breach. OT infrastructure is no longer benefiting from obscurity and the adoption of near-universal convergence of IT and OT networks implies traditionally isolated environments are no longer safe. Organizations must take proactive steps to harden OT environments, including integrating tools and practices designed to protect, detect, and respond to threats in real-time. Although attacks are inevitable, they don’t have to be successful.

The post Are You Prepared for More OT Threats? appeared first on The Integrator.

An official statement quoted, “The expansion supports priorities set by Saudi Arabia’s 2020 budget allocation of SAR102 billion ($27.2 billion) for security and regional administration including cybersecurity, as well as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 pillar on National Industrial Development and Logistics. “

Bruce Niven, Chief Investment Officer, Aramco Ventures said, “Dragos is that partner and as a testament to our trust in them, we have invested in the company. We are pleased that Dragos continues to expand its footprint to enable more organizations in the region to secure the critical infrastructure that serves our communities and contributes to the global economy.”

Dragos is privately held and headquartered in the Baltimore-Washington, DC area with a regional presence around the world, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and the Middle East.

The post Dragos Continues Expansion to Meet Demands for Industrial Cybersecurity appeared first on The Integrator.