Cyber-risk to critical and industrial infrastructure reaches all-time high

A new report from Nozomi Networks Labs finds cyberthreats to industrial and critical infrastructure have reached new heights as threat actors double down on high value targets.

With industrial organizations ramping connectivity to accelerate Digital Transformation and remote work, threat actors are weaponizing the software supply chain and ransomware attacks are growing in number, sophistication and persistence.

“This report leaves no doubt that the time for action is now,” said Nozomi Networks Co-founder and CTO Moreno Carullo. “The recent Oldsmar, Florida, water system attack and the on-going SolarWinds investigation are dramatic reminders that the critical infrastructure and other systems that we rely on are vulnerable and at constant risk of attack. Understanding the effectiveness of defenses against the emerging threat and vulnerability landscape is vital to success.”

Nozomi Networks’ latest OT/IoT Security Report, gives cybersecurity professionals an overview of the OT and IoT threats analyzed by Nozomi Networks Labs security research team. The report found:

• Ransomware activity continues to dominate the threat landscape, growing in sophistication and persistence. In addition to demanding financial payments, Ryuk, Netwalker, Egregor and other ransomware gangs are exfiltrating data and deeply compromising networks for future nefarious activities.
• Supply chain threats and vulnerabilities show no signs of slowing. The unprecedented SolarWinds attack not only infected thousands of organizations including US Government agencies and critical infrastructure, but it also demonstrates the massive potential for attack via supply chain weaknesses.
• Threat actors are targeting healthcare. Nation states are using off-the-shelf red team tools to execute attacks and perform cyber espionage against facilities involved with COVID-19 research. Ransomware crews are targeting healthcare providers and hospitals, in some cases disrupting patient treatment.
• Analysis of 151 ICS- CERTs published in the last six months found memory corruption errors are the dominant vulnerability type for industrial devices.

“Urgency has never been higher. As industrial organizations race toward Digital Transformation, threat actors are taking advantage of greater OT connectivity to create attacks that aim to disrupt operations and threaten the safety, profitability and reputation of enterprises around the globe,” said Nozomi Networks CEO Edgard Capdevielle. “While threats may be on the rise, the technologies and practices to defeat them are available today. We encourage organizations to act quickly to implement the recommendations in this report. It’s never been more important or more possible to take the necessary steps to detect and defend critical infrastructure and industrial operations.”

Nozomi Networks’ OT/IoT Security Report summarises the biggest threats and risks to OT and IoT environments. The report provides information on 18 specific threats that IT and OT security teams should study as they model threat vectors and evaluate risks across operational technology systems. It includes 10 key recommendations and actionable insights to improve defenses against the current threat landscape.