IT/OT convergence drives cyber incidents in the production of cyber incidents

Converted IT and Operational Technology systems (OT) systems have been targeted in 75% of cyber incidents in the past 12 months that affect production companies.

In a new report by Telstra International and Omdia, the considerable cyber risks from IT/OT convergence and a lack of willingness of manufacturers to cope with this threat was emphasized.

The process of using IT systems for communication and control of OT – programmable systems that interact with industrial devices – can significantly improve efficiency in sectors such as production and energy.

However, it also creates a wider attack surface for threat players to target critical industrial devices.

The report found that around 70% of OT systems in companies in the USA, Latin America and Europe will be connected to companies with currently 50% within the next year.

Only 19% of the companies surveyed are considered “advanced” when securing their IT/OT systems, measured by the Nist framework of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (Nist).

In addition, it was found that only 45% of the manufacturers are converged to eight key areas in order to converge IT/OT security in eight key areas. This included security networks, security awareness, supply chain risks and Zero Trust.

The report also determined a lack of consistency and clarity about who is responsible for securing environments. Only 20%identified CISOS as this responsibility, followed by Chief Risk Officers (14%) and Chief Technology Officer (13%).

Geraldine Kor, head of the Global Enterprise Business of Telstra International, commented: “This responsibility must be clear and integrated so that a group or person is authorized to react to security challenges for mission -critical systems. It is also important to have the right people and security -oriented culture, since their absence hinder the willingness of security and holds technical challenges together. “

Overall, 80% of the manufacturers have given a significant increase in cyber security incidents in the past 12 months, whereby 31% of them led to financial losses and/or operational downtimes.

The costs of between 200,000 and 2 million US dollars were of the incidents that led to resilience or availability problems.

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The study surveyed over 500 managers worldwide in the manufacturing industry.