Cyber Security

Compounding this challenge gave an edge to cybersecurity concerns in operational environments where sensitivity is data disruptions. Moreover, with the changes in compliance requirements, a comprehensive approach to OT asset management and security is paramount. November 2023, the entire pressure regulation pump system of the Aliquippa water plant in Pennsylvania was cyber-attacked and shut down highlights the significance of OT security measures and its consequences when compromised. The cyberattack targeted the PLC-HMI system of the plant’s OT system which was manufactured by Unitronics. Key Components of OT Asset Inventory Management An effective OT asset inventory management system must comprise of following components: Administering an OT Asset Management System Putting the OT asset management system into action needs a planned and organized approach to ensure each segment is taken care of with perfection and connects with organizational goals. The standard system flow includes: Provocation in OT Asset Inventory Management OT asset inventory management complexities are observed in the following: Updated standards for sound OT Asset Inventory Management Value addition of robust OT Asset Inventory Management Implementation of robust OT asset inventory management unlocks the following benefits: Conclusion Advanced analytics and AI support improves the effectiveness of OT asset inventory management for industries. Sectrio, a team of high-tech experts, knows what an industry needs to optimize its asset management. Whether the industry is at the initial stage or an old gamer, the optimized asset management support from Sectrio will transform the pattern into a result-driven path.

In this gripping growth of the industrial landscape, the need for a structured asset management system is more paramount than ever. To support this urgency OT asset inventory- a mutational tool is considered one of the best redefinitions for overseeing organization and industrial critical infrastructure. Before signing in for the OT asset inventory process, it is predominant to understand what exactly it is. Let’s examine the meticulous benefit that your business will gain from OT asset inventory management. Enhanced Visibility and Control A complete OT asset inventory appraises your asset management understanding for industrial growth in the following areas: Compliance management Following the complexities of the industry regulation can be challenging, but a well-structured OT asset inventory provides support for compliance management and reduces the risk by navigating through these: Decision-making Data-driven decision-making helps in achieving operational success in an industrial environment. Some of the areas that OT asset management uncovers for better decision-making: Cost-effective When a distorted approach is used in asset management most of the cost cannot be explained. With OT asset management, not only gets answers to the cost incurred but also ensures it is done rightly. The optimization is provided in the following areas: Conclusion The complex landscape of industries can be tackled well with the OT asset inventory tool. The delivered results and optimized growth are highly evident in the decision-making of asset inventory management. Ensure your organization is structured, adheres to compliance and always stays within the budget with the help of Sectrio’s advanced asset management solution. Connect with our team and get solutions for operational excellence.  

To manage the network complexities, the issues must be addressed promptly to uphold the network security challenges. These complexities outgrow the tenderness of the situation and make the network inefficient. With this solution article, identify and address OT network security challenges. Resolve it with the help of experts and ensure secure, efficient operations. Common OT Network Issues Connectivity Problems Hardware failure, misconfigured settings, and interference cause connectivity issues in an OT. Dropped connections, critical devices accessing problems, and broken communication will be the stumbling block for the unit. Regular monitoring and troubleshooting of physical connections will verify the network and align it right with the intended functions. Performance Shrink The performance will whack when the network gets congested, has low bandwidth, and runs on outdated hardware. It impacts data processing and leads to slower response time. Here, monitoring tools will help to find pinpoint areas for optimizing network performance and hardware upgrades. Security Security level drops when the OT network is exposed to cyberattacks, data breaches, ransomware, and other unethical activities. A system having outdated software, inefficient firewall security, and weak network access will invite these system insecurities.  Chalk down these vulnerabilities and implement sound security measures at each step to mitigate the security loss. Preparing the Diagnosis Network document collection Before treating any network issues, it is smart to collect detailed network documentation. This set of documentation includes device inventories, network diagrams, logs, and configuration files which will help you understand the network architecture, potential faulty areas, and changes required. Gathering Tools Effective resolution requires a set of right tools that includes packet sniffers, performance monitoring tools, and network analyzers. With these right tools problems like network issues and connectivity problems can be resolved.  Diagnosis Process Step Identifying the problem To diagnose it is important to know about the symptoms that the OT network detected. It can be slow network speed, unusual behavior in networked devices, and frequent disconnections. The team will accurately document the problem area and start interviewing the users, checking performance metrics and logs. Isolating the area After finding the problem area, the ideal step would be isolating the problem area by narrowing down the issues to specific components like routers, endpoints, and switches. Now, the team will follow the process of segmenting the network and testing individual components to find the faulty area. Testing each component This will facilitate checking the function of individual devices, cables, and connections. The tests like traceroutes, ping test, and throughput will be started. It will help in understanding faulty hardware or misconfigured settings. Analysis After completion of the above three steps, the team will analyze the collected data to find anomalies. They will review performance metrics, diagnosis tests, and error logs. Here data analysis helps in understanding the base of the issue and resolution strategy. Advanced Diagnosis Technique Network Traffic Analysis This process scrutinizes the small section of data, often known as data packets. It analyses network irregularities, and security threats by using robust tools like deep packet inspection software, packet sniffers, and network analyzers.  Post analysis, network administrators obtain thorough insight into the traffic patterns, latency, potential congestion points, and network bandwidth usage. Deep analysis is important to figure out issues like excessive unwanted traffic that can slow the system, unauthorized access, and issues like network congestion. Close monitoring of data flow in the system will help in gaining targeted intervention data and optimize security. Device-specific diagnosis It is a focused examination of single network components like firewalls, routers, switches, and controllers. Every device within an OT network will be diagnosed with the tools and procedure. These tools are often provided by the device manufacturer.  This device-oriented process will pinpoint exact problems that might not come under the radar of general network analysis. It resolves device-specific problems and contributes to the long-term stability of the entire network.  Resolving Identified Issues Quick fixes The quick fix process includes adjusting configurations, rebooting devices, and replacing faulty cables. These fixed processes close minor problems and make the system functionally available.  However, it is crucial to know that a quick fix resolves the base issue of the problem, not alleviates symptoms. With regular maintenance, the department can stop these recurring problems and improve overall network quality. Expert help The situation of the network can persist even after troubleshooting efforts. In such a case it is best to go for expert help. Some advanced problems like second-level security breaches and performance issues require advanced support and diagnostic tools. A network security expert will provide the right and effective support here through their standard troubleshooting method. Preventive Measures Network Maintenance Disciplined maintenance of the network prevents issues from build-up and ensures the performance is optimal. Disciplined maintenance includes software updates, resolving vulnerabilities, and cleaning unrequired hardware parts. Schedule your maintenance to identify the problems before they ladder up. Furthermore, a routine checkup of all the physical components keeps the exploitation on notice. Implementation of the Monitoring system A sound and effective monitoring system needs real-time tracking of security and network performance. These monitoring tools analyze anomalies, hindrances in performance, and security threats. The tools provide immediate responses to potential issues where you can set up alerts, review logs, and analyze trends.  With the maintenance of monitoring tools, departments get a proactive chance to address irregularities and make the environment for assets healthy and operational. Conclusion A well-functioning OT network ensures uninterrupted industrial operations. With regular diagnosis, these network issues can be prevented thereby saving significant time and money. Here a proactive approach is essential to repair the minor issue before it goes to the next level. For securing the network and optimizing it, considering an expert is a time-saving move. Partner with Sectrio and enhance the reliability of your network. 

What is an Incident Response Plan? A network security breach can put an enterprise into chaos. A security breach exposing sensitive data and networks pushes security teams into panic, especially the inexperienced ones. Even an expert security team might fail in neutralizing a threat optimally if they are unprepared. To ensure optimal handling of threats even in crunch situations, irrespective of the teams’ experience, the Incident Response Plan (IRP) comes in handy. An Incident Response Plan is a document that assists IT and OT security professionals in responding effectively and timely to cyberattacks. The IRP plan includes details, procedures, and tools for identifying, and detecting an attack/malfunction, analyzing, determining its severity, and mitigating, eliminating, and restoring operations to normalcy on IT, IIoT, and OT networks. The IRP plays a crucial role in ensuring an attack does not recur. The amalgamation of IT, IIoT, and OT networks has made cyberattacks at the core of security breaches, along with other challenges like modification to control systems, and restricting interface with operational systems among others. Attacks on IT, IIoT, and OT Networks: Cyberattacks: The cyberattacks can originate in the following manner, targeting the corporate and operational divisions of an enterprise: Modification to control systems: From disabling safety sensors to triggering a reaction of event failures, modification to control systems can have drastic effects. The case is worse in the case of OT networks, where there is little to no security with a single event capable of impacting the whole supply chain ecosystem. The physical infrastructure at manufacturing plants comprises thousands of PLCs, multi-layered SCADA systems, and DCS. Any process malfunctioning and anomalies occurring at the plant level can affect the OT infrastructure. The following signs raise red flags about malfunction or an attack on an OT network: It is crucial to acknowledge that threats can take any form and shape, and a comprehensive IRP should be able to address the challenges above thoroughly. There have been numerous instances of a cyberattack-led attack destroying OT networks and affecting related infrastructure. IRP reflects an organization’s personal and corporate information integrity. Often, many IRPs include defining roles and responsibilities, establishing communication channels between teams (IR team and the organization), and carrying out standard protocols during a security event. An Incident Response Plan continues functioning even after handling a security event effectively. It provides a window into historical data, helping auditors ascertain the risk assessment process. Evaluating the effectiveness of IRP A set of metrics need to be established to track the effectiveness of an IRP. A few of the metrics are as follows: These metrics help understand and estimate the risk weighing on the IRP and pave the way to improve it further. Importance of Incident Response Plans in IT, IoT, & OT establishments Technology and automation are woven into our daily lives. Industrial plants run on integrated and sensitive IT and OT networks, pushing the world forward. However, the evolution of IIoT has added another layer of complexity, calling for stricter security measures, given its level of social, government, and military penetration. Need for Incident Response Plan in IoT & OT A security event has the muscle to the shake foundations of businesses. The highly publicized 2015 Target data breach saw the CEO getting fired. In addition, numerous SMBs (Small and Medium Businesses) went bankrupt after a data breach was made public. Unauthorized access hampers an enterprise’s IT ecosystem and affects every device on the network, putting thousands of IoT connected to the breached IT network. It is not possible to completely secure a given IT & OT network from cyberattacks. In such an atmosphere, IRP can help minimize the damage to a good extent. It minimizes the threat radius and can help recover the systems at a swift pace. Alongside this, it plays a crucial role in meeting numerous industry and government compliances, protecting the company’s brand, and paving the way for agencies to better collaborate in tackling the threats. Need for Incident Response Plan in the OT Sector A robust Incident Response Plan in manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and energy sectors where IoT, IIoT, OT, ICS, and SCADA systems are vital is indispensable. OT networks are the backbone of modern society, and any lapse in their functioning can have cascading effects. Given the quantum of resources (human and other assets) and the inter-dependency of additional infrastructure in OT networks, the stakes are quite high. Hence, it is important to understand why IRP plays a key role in defining the security of IIoT and OT, thereby shaping society. The past learnings are incorporated into the IRPs, making them dynamic and living processes. By having an incident response plan, organizations can learn from past incidents, conduct post-incident analyses, and continuously improve their security posture to protect their systems and assets better. Drafting an efficient Incident Response Policy for OT, IoT, and IT Networks Irrespective of the size of the enterprise, an effective Incident Response Policy is the need of the hour amid the snowballing cybersecurity threats. A comprehensive and efficient IRP helps respond to a cybersecurity incident, malfunction, or any mishap during the operational course effectively and minimize the consequential situation arising. Therefore, following strict measures while drafting an efficient Incident Response Policy is obligatory. Break down of NIST CS IR Team Incident Response Plan – OT & IT Infrastructure The Incident Handling Guide from NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) proposes a four-section phase for a successful IPR. It involves: Preparation phase: The initial phase of the Incident Response Plan deals with the prevention of threats arising from various reasons and causes. At this phase, most threats are flagged, dealt with, and analyzed to evaluate the extent of threat they pose to the enterprise. The threats that meet specific criteria based on threat intelligence inputs and other data are notified as incidents, and a defense plan is created accordingly. The preparation phase involves the following: Detection and Analysis (and documentation): Understanding anomalies and cyber intrusion is essential in the early detection of the threat.