Risk Management July 11, 2022

One year after the Colonial Pipeline attack, regulation is still a problem

3 min read - The Colonial Pipeline cyberattack is still causing ripples. Some of these federal mandates may mark major changes for operational technology (OT) cybersecurity. The privately held Colonial Pipeline company, which provides nearly half of the fuel used by the East Coast…

Security Services April 13, 2022

Where everything old is new again: Operational technology and ghosts of malware past

7 min read - This post was written with contributions from IBM Security X-Force’s Michael Worley. Operational technology (OT) — the networks that control industrial control system processes — face a more complex challenge than their IT counterparts when it comes to updating operating…

Incident Response December 10, 2021

IoT Security: Protecting Food and Agriculture Organizations

3 min read - Ransomware actors are targeting food and agriculture organizations, potentially disrupting business. Luckily, there are already formal structures in place to boost the IoT security defenses they need. Knowing them keeps the lifeblood of industrial farms and food delivery going. Businesses…

Identity & Access December 9, 2021

IAM OT Security Risks Call for Strategic Defenses

5 min read - Today’s technology requires today’s identity and access management (IAM). In the past, operational technology (OT) systems were physically and logically separated from a company’s enterprise corporate business environment and the external world. That served as a control to protect them…

Incident Response November 19, 2021

How to Design IoT Security From the Ground Up

4 min read - The Internet of Things (IoT) is a powerful boon to business. But it also represents a massive potential expansion of the cybersecurity attack surface. So far, IoT inclusion in many organizations has been poorly organized, haphazard and poorly planned. This…

Energy & Utility October 28, 2021

Roundup: 2021 Energy & Utility Data Breaches and Defenses in the News

3 min read - Ransomware is evolving. How long until it takes down operational technology? In May 2021, Colonial Pipeline, one of the largest fuel pipelines in the United States, faced a ransomware attack. The company, which transports more than 100 million gallons of…

X-Force October 27, 2021

The Weaponization of Operational Technology

8 min read - Contributed to this research: Adam Laurie and Sameer Koranne. Given the accelerating rise in operational technology (OT) threats, this blog will address some of the most common threats IBM Security X-Force is observing against organizations with OT networks, including ransomware…

Zero Trust August 19, 2021

Critical Infrastructure Attack Trends: What Business Leaders Should Know

4 min read - Amateur threat actors have been able to compromise critical infrastructure like industrial control systems (ICS) and other operational technology (OT) assets more often lately. Compromises of exposed OT assets rose over the past 18 months, according to threat researchers at…

Advanced Threats July 7, 2021

Attacks on Operational Technology From IBM X-Force and Dragos Data

8 min read - Operational Technology Threats in 2021: Ransomware, Remote Access Trojans and Targeted Threat Groups Organizations with operational technology (OT) networks face many unique — and often complicated — considerations when it comes to cybersecurity threats. One of the main challenges facing…

News July 5, 2021

Amateur Critical Infrastructure Attacks Growing in Frequency, Relative Severity

3 min read - Low-sophistication operational technology (OT) attacks grew in frequency and relative severity over the previous few years, according to Mandiant. In doing so, they broadened the type of threat against which companies and governments need to defend their OT assets. Attackers…