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So, my daughters like to give me a hard time about growing old.

Said another way, I’m a legacy asset - just like most of the devices many of you observe, manage and secure every day. Your machines are still in place because they work. While the technology around these assets has evolved, their core functionality and value to the production process has remained constant.

But as sensors, network connections and access parameters have been upgraded to improve output, these highly prized pieces of equipment are showing their age from a cybersecurity perspective. The challenges they present are reinforced with findings from Fortinet’s 2024 State of Operational Technology and Cybersecurity Report.

A couple of key takeaways include findings that show nearly one-third of respondents experiencing six or more intrusions in the last year. Additionally, fewer respondents claimed 100 percent OT system visibility – with that number decreasing from 10 to five percent. On the bright side, we’re getting better in some areas, with 20 percent of organizations establishing visibility and implementing segmentation, up from only 13 percent the previous year.

Joining us to discuss these and other trends is Jon Taylor, Director and Principal of Security with Versa Networks, a leading provider of digital transformation and edge security solutions. Watch/listen as he discusses:

• Why the Purdue model might re outdated and preventing many from using new strategies like SASE.
• Why he believes visibility is security - "you have to see it do defend it," and how AI could be the solution.
• The need for OT to look at vulnerabilities from a network or architecture perspective, not by device or connection point.
• How air gapping help feed the division between IT and OT.
• The weaponizing of OT networks stems from the lack of an adaptive network strategy fed by archaic infrastructure.
• Instead of Security by Design, we need to implement Patching by Design.
• Why the industrial sector needs to be more vocal about the need for embedded security and embedded micro-segmentation.
• How state-sponsored hackers are helping elevate the industrial sector's response and prioritization of cybersecurity.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast. And if you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast. And if you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at jeff@ien.com.

To download our latest report on industrial cybersecurity, The Industrial Sector’s New Battlefield, click here.

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While the justifications for additional cybersecurity spending is easy to explain, getting buy-in at the C-level can be difficult. However, some recent research might help you win over those controlling the purse strings.

SonicWall’s Mid-Year Cyber Threat Report found that their firewalls were under attack 125 percent of the time during a 40-hour work week. And if that doesn’t get the attention of the powers that be, it might also be worth mentioning that during these attacks SonicWall also found that, at a minimum, 12.6 percent of all revenues were exposed to cyber threats that were not covered by security tools or procedures.

Extrahop’s Global Cyber Confidence Index also reported that 31 percent of cyber and IT leaders want more budget, or more accurately, a 50 percent increase in order to effectively manage and mitigate cyber risk. That number might seem a bit inflated, but it does help illustrate how we’re seemingly fighting the cyber battle on multiple fronts.

To help sort through some of these challenges and direct our resources as effectively as possible, I recently sat down with Anusha Iyer, the Founder and CEO of Corsha, a leading provider of OT asset management and access security solutions.

Watch/listen as we discuss:

• How to retrofit new practices for legacy assets in order to optimize uptime.
• The false confidence generated by many air gap strategies.
• The importance of machine identity strategies in order to understand the best ways to secure assets and their growing number of connections.
• Increases in ICS-focused malware and live-off-the-land attacks.
• The importance of focusing on the "whys" when conducting employee cybersecurity training.
• Reinforcing the "realities of the day" in improving the entire cybersecurity community.
• Using AI to assess more connection behaviors.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast. And if you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at jeff@ien.com.

To download our latest report on industrial cybersecurity, The Industrial Sector’s New Battlefield, click here.

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One of the most common topics we explore here on Security Breach is the ongoing challenge of asset visibility in the OT landscape. It's frustrating because it would seem that the solution starts with basic inventory management approaches, i.e. the first step in developing frameworks and plans for everything from tool selection to attack response.

Of course, this is never simple due to the increasing amount of IIoT technology and the connection demands they place on industrial systems. It’s a situation that promises to only get more complex, with Fortinet reporting that in 2023, only five percent of surveyed organizations have 100 percent visibility into their own OT activities – a number that is down from 13 percent in 2022.

To provide some insight on managing this growing number of machines, connections, access points and other vulnerable areas of the ICS, we connected with Kevin Bocek, the Chief Innovation Officer at Venafi, a leading provider of asset identity management. Watch/listen as he discusses:

• Why cyber incidents are a learning opportunity for everyone.
• The benefits of showing the C-suite all those plant floor connections when working to get proper cybersecurity funding.
• The rise in attacks that will be emanating from legacy software and coding.
• Why software assets should be managed and secured in the same manner as machines or devices.
• How manufacturing can bring Continuous Improvement strategies to OT security.
• Stuxnet's long-term impact.
• How quantum computing will dramatically alter authentication approaches and secure-by-design practices within the next five years.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast. And if you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at jeff@ien.com.

To download our latest report on industrial cybersecurity, The Industrial Sector’s New Battlefield, click here.