Digital security incidents involving operational technology (OT) can have big impacts on the physical world. Why are these OT security incidents happening? A lack of understanding of how the different elements of DevSecOps fit together can contribute. This also shows the importance of crossover between engineering and cybersecurity.

In March 2021, for instance, Fortinet found over 90% of organizations with OT assets admitted to having suffered at least one security incident in the past year. 12% said that their employers had faced a minimum of 10 incidents in that period. Those events disrupted work for more than half of respondents, the study found. Meanwhile, public safety became an issue in 45% of cases.

Facing IT-OT Challenges with DevSecOps

One problem facing OT security is the convergence of industrial environments with information technology (IT) assets. Both IT and OT suffer from similar types of security threats in some respects. Unwanted access, password reuse, malware attacks and other problems can hit both. But the two often have conflicting needs due to the nature of their business. OT sees availability as a means of preventing physical danger and ensuring public safety. Meanwhile, IT puts secrecy first in the ongoing fight against data breaches.

IT and OT don’t always know where their counterparts stand. Nor do they have a reference point to start to understand each other. This lack of teamwork complicates the task of extending security across both. In response, attackers might exploit a lack of integration and/or visibility between IT and OT. By targeting assets in one, they can pivot to the other. For example, threat actors can use IT security weaknesses to disrupt industrial control systems, make changes to OT assets and/or interfere with safety equipment. So, where does DevSecOps come in?

Cybersecurity Education for Engineers Matters to DevSecOps

So, how do you defend against OT attacks and account for the challenges of the ongoing IT-OT convergence? One way is to focus on providing engineers with cybersecurity education. Getting engineers involved in development helps further secure the DevSecOps collaborative system.

Critical infrastructure organizations need engineers more than others. After all, engineers operate on the front lines. These personnel help design, implement and maintain industrial environments. They’re in a position to help those environments evolve with and stay safe amid the IT-OT convergence. But, in order to do so, they need to understand the threats confronting them.

How to Provide Cybersecurity Education to Engineers

When it comes time to provide engineers with cybersecurity education, it’s important not to approach their security awareness training the same way as you would with non-tech employees on the IT side. A one-size-fits-all approach will not work. Those two groups confront different threats on a daily basis, after all. Learning about problems that don’t pertain to their jobs will waste their time or even make them more complacent.

Knowing that, cultivate engineers’ awareness of threats that are relevant to them. Use training modules in tandem with threat intelligence to emphasize new attack campaigns confronting critical infrastructure, for instance. In addition, conduct tests that highlight secure OT system design as those principles evolve with the changing threat landscape. This way, your engineers will find their own place in the DevSecOps framework.