IT/OT Cybersecurity

Traditionally, organisations, amidst increasing cyberattacks, have focused on protecting information technology assets and human identities. Therefore, information systems that hold a large amount of sensitive and confidential information are fortified with the help of a variety of data security solutions to protect data, network, and devices against any sort of cyber incident. Operational Technologies, on the other hand, have received little attention from a security perspective. And this is matter of grave concern given that IT and OT technologies have converged in the recent past in the backdrop of the increasing pace of digital transformation.

Although OT systems are ring-fenced with protective shields in the form of Physical Access Controls Systems (PACS), the administrative controls for OT systems are often overlooked. That sort of practice is highly dangerous. The reason is that over time more IT and OT systems are getting interconnected and integrated for better control and analysis of data as well as and monitoring of the same. So, there is no scope for operating both IT and OT systems in silos. When organisations operate in siloed IT and OT environments, cybercriminals typically find vulnerability in IT systems. After compromising security and access control gaps they intrude into OT systems. The threat actors can inflict heavy damage by gaining access to SCADA and ICS systems.

Earlier, OT environments were managed in isolation. However, with the passage of time and the evolution of OT systems from analog controlled systems to digital and electronic systems, OT systems started to integrate with IT systems to support better decision-making. OT systems that include overly critical ICS environments such as warehouses and manufacturing facilities; SCADA environments that include critical industrial processes such as Human to Machine Interfaces and Programable Logic Controllers; Critical Infrastructure that encompasses power plants, distribution grids, water treatment plants, and traffic navigation systems as well as disparate IIoT IP-enabled devices that capture real-time data through sensors, cameras---can easily fall prey to cybercriminals through providing unauthorised access.

As explained earlier, a quite common method to execute cyber-attack is by exploiting IT systems and gaining access to the OT environment. And in an extremely hyperconnected world, ensuring security only through physical security measures is inadequate.

Thus, in the given circumstances, the threat to OT systems is as serious and potentially damaging as it is with IT systems. Just like IT systems, a cyberattack on OT systems can be executed by nation-state actors, organised cybercriminals, or a malicious insider for any kind of motive--- espionage, disgruntlement, or hacktivism.

Therefore, organisations with OT environments need to ensure that cybersecurity strategy is robust and proactive enough to mitigate threats of devastating attacks on operational systems. There must be adequate safeguards in place to prevent cyber incidents--- and the foundation to build a strong OT security framework starts with deploying a strong Privileged Access Management for secure administrative access to critical infrastructure, ICS, and SCADA systems.

Asset Discovery - How is it possible to protect OT devices when security teams do not have any idea about how many devices are being administered? Scanning OT and IT networks along with discovering all the underlying OT and IT assets in the network is a first step towards building a secure and resilient posture for OT systems. ARCON PAM offers security leaders a critical capability to scan and discover all IT and OT assets. Asset Discovery ensures that no OT and IT asset is left unnoticed, that could pave the way for cyberattack.

Secure Gateway - ARCON Secure Gateway offers tunnelling capabilities for ensuring secure interface between users and target applications/ systems in OT environments. Critical sessions are brokered directly between the client machine and the target device. This capability ensures that administrators and users have authorised access to target systems, boosting efficiency and productivity.

Access Control - Access Control allows to grant access based on “need to know” and “need to do" basis to IT & OT connected devices. It helps to manage users based on their roles, responsibilities, and tasks - enforcing the principle of least privileges and reducing the risk of unauthorised access and misuse of critical OT infrastructure.

Credentials Vaulting and Rotation - OT devices come with default credentials/passwords and if left unchanged, it can pave the way for credential misuse. ARCON PAM offers an immensely powerful password vault, a centralised engine that vaults passwords and changes and rotates them at the desired level of frequency.

Session Isolation - Session isolation involves creating a secure and isolated environment for each session or connection to an IT and OT device. This prevents unauthorised access to the device and reduces the risk of data leakage or tampering. Session isolation can be achieved through techniques such as network segmentation and virtualisation.

Session Monitoring, Recording and Session Logs - ARCON PAM keeps a vigilant eye on all user activities performed when accessing the target OT devices by generating comprehensive logs that capture every action and event. These logs provide critical insights into user behaviour, enabling security leaders to identify potential security threats and anomalies. By monitoring and recording all user activities, ARCON PAM ensures that any suspicious or unauthorised access attempts are promptly detected and dealt with, thus minimising the risk of cyber threats, and ensuring the safety and security of industrial systems.

Single Sign-On - End users requiring one-time secure administrative access to IT OT integrated devices do not have to bother with managing multiple login credentials to access multiple critical applications in OT environments. With just a single set of authentications, Single sign-on makes complicated tasks such as end-users remembering multiple login credentials to access multiple applications easy, by enabling an end-user to authenticate once and then be automatically authenticated to other target applications.

Conclusion

In the wake of increasing cyberattacks, IT and OT environments should not be administered in silos. Instead, all hyperconnected IT OT environments must be reinforced with strong Privileged Access Management.