Over the last decade, cyber-attacks on Operational Technology have increased in frequency and scale. Cyber attackers and online criminal squads have used cyberterrorism to disrupt corporations and critical infrastructure globally. Today, they are becoming even more fierce and are utilizing their resources to target Operations Technology (OT) and Industrial Control System (ICS) networks to harm humans.

IoT (INTERNET OF THINGS) devices were created in 1999. Since then, companies are continuously adding more and more IoT devices in their workspace as these devices make work a lot easier and faster. IoT devices are constantly upgrading with new features. The toaster is considered the first IoT device introduced in the market. And now there are thousands of IoT devices present in the market, for example, air quality sensors, Wi-fi typewriters, smart tennis rackets, etc.

As cyber threats to critical infrastructure sites around the world continue to dominate news cycles, the topic of industrial cyber security becomes an increasingly important point of discussion.

ATS Advanced Technical Solutions is therefore happy to announce the first upcoming webinar as a certified Cisco IoT Advantage Specialization Partner.

Implementing an effective and comprehensive operational technology (OT) cybersecurity strategy is more crucial than ever before.

Most companies have long been implementing thorough IT security measures to protect their data and digital assets, but it wasn’t always the case for OT environments. With the growth of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and the convergence of IT and OT as companies seek improved connectivity through the internet and enterprise technologies, the risk for malicious cyberattacks became increasingly pertinent in OT environments.

As the newest Accenture Cyber Security report highlights, cyber attacks in 2021 continue to evolve – becoming more widespread, speeding up deployment, and getting creative in their choice of entry points and overall strategies.

Furthermore, the current trend of diversifying targets – ranging from smaller companies to huge industrial sites – means that no one is safe.

The natural resources industry is considered one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. The number of potential hazards this field faces on a daily basis requires an extraordinary amount of safety precautions to keep risk on a controllable level.

But – even with the development of highly complex safety measures that are in place today, accidents do occur, and frequently.

During October Cyber Security Awareness Month, we brought attention to best practices in cyber security today, some of the more prominent cyber attacks during the past year, and the current state of cyber security regulations worldwide.

We chose to close this special series of articles with a look into the cyber security of defence organizations

With the massive increase of cyber crimes in the OT space, the cabinets of UAE and other selected countries in the Middle East region (Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar among others) are concerned about securing the cyber infrastructure and protecting the data from cyber criminals.

Middle East governments are acutely aware of the new threat landscape of digitization.

Critical infrastructure is described both physically and digitally as the root systems, assets, and strategic networks that are so critical to a country that their collapse could weaken physical safety, continuity of the economy, interruption, or national public health system.

As the world’s largest industrial complexes undergo digitization efforts, and as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) becomes integrated into processes of oversight, management, operation and production, the number of potential threats to this new way of business also rises. We wrote about some of the reasons to increase your cyber security in our previous article.

In the dynamically shifting state of modern industry, there are a multitude of reasons to protect one’s company, or enhance and strengthen its existing cyber security measures.

As recent cases of malware intrusions on critical infrastructure, such as the Triton attack and the Colonial pipeline case have shown, the need to meet cyber security challenges head on, and further advance existing protection only grows.

ATS is pleased to share that our webinar in partnership with Cisco at our ATS Coffee Break Sessions Series was a huge success. The plan of the webinar included the essential need for operational technology cybersecurity.

ICS/OT cybersecurity is the central topic of CISCO’s new eBook, “OT Cyber Security.”

Cyber attacks on small municipal systems and infrastructures have been increasing in the past year, and this is a serious concern as it involves the lives of the people that these public systems serve. Earlier this year, cyber attackers accessed a water treatment plant in Oldsmar, Florida and warnings were out of sight.

The purpose of an ICS patch management program aims to ensure that ICS is secured and executed by testing, implementing, and deploying trusted patches. This approach helps in ensuring that the industrial control system is updated and is defended against cyber threat actors and malicious operators. It is applicable for all ICS software and hardware elements in both Operational Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT).

As cyber threats to critical infrastructure sites around the world continue to dominate news cycles, the topic of industrial cyber security becomes an increasingly important point of discussion.

ATS Advanced Technical Solutions is therefore happy to announce the first upcoming webinar as a certified Cisco IoT Advantage Specialization Partner.