AVEVA’s CISO Tim Grieveson wants to save the world. Here’s how…

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is a critical electronic ecosystem weaving together businesses and lives around the world. But this sophisticated integrated network of assets and data is under constant and rising threat from bad actors seeking to cause national distress or reap financial gain.The grave consequences of IIoT attacks lurched into global consciousness this year when US fuel transport group Colonial Pipeline was brought to its knees by a $4.4 million ransomware attack. [/guest]The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is a critical electronic ecosystem weaving together businesses and lives around the world. But this sophisticated integrated network of assets and data is under constant and rising threat from bad actors seeking to cause national distress or reap financial gain.The grave consequences of IIoT attacks lurched into global consciousness this year when US fuel transport group Colonial Pipeline was brought to its knees by a $4.4 million ransomware attack. The transformational effects of connected technology come laden with some of the most dangerous and pervasive risks the cyber world has seen. Gartner says that the financial impact of IIoT attacks resulting in fatal casualties will reach over $50 billion by 2023. Tim Grieveson, CISO of UK-based FTSE 100 industrial software firm AVEVA, which counts the world’s largest energy providers and factories among its clients, says a zero trust approach is the only option for protecting critical systems.Tim, are industries particularly vulnerable to Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks? How can factories and plants develop robust resistance to them?Ransomware attacks can be particularly crippling for factories and other complex industrial facilities due the sheer number of intersecting systems and data required to keep production running smoothly. Victims of these attacks not only have to halt operations, but face months of compromised operations if data is lost. There is also significant reputational loss.Factories and plants can prepare themselves by ensuring they have a continual vulnerability management programme in place which detects, prioritises and remediates existing and emerging vulnerabilities. Firms should also implement a robust security awareness programme to encourage employees to identify and report any security incidents.Would you recommend Zero Trust strategies? Zero Trust strategies are vital in today’s cybersecurity landscape. Your system is only as strong as your weakest link – that means every employee and access point is a potential vulnerability for the entire ecosystem. Implementing effective Zero Trust solutions is the best defence against both malicious actors and careless employees.What are the weakest security links in factories and industrial plants?People can be both the weakest and strongest link in any organisation. Therefore, investment in people is key when protecting any organisation whether that’s in a factory or industrial plant. This is why a robust and continual training programme, including digital, physical risks and protection, is crucial to ensuring a basic line of defence.Should industrial CISOs be worried about the steep rise in ransomware attacks?I believe every CISO should be aware of the situation and have a proactive plan in place to prevent and combat the growing threat. Attacks over the last year have demonstrated that industrial firms and their supply chains are targets for threat actors. All organisations of every size and in every sector are in danger.CISOs should focus their efforts on moving security programmes from reactive to proactive to stay abreast of the inevitable tsunami of security events.What are your growth predictions for the industrial cyber security sector? I predict that there will be an increased focus on security as threat actors move along the supply chain. It is likely that organisations will see a jump in the number of insider threat attacks as adversaries use social engineering to entice employees to assist in infiltrating organisations.Urgently automating compliance requirements and IAM policies, such as privilege management or password management, will be key to creating a defensive posture. Additionally, the need to track and automate several user-related security incidents simultaneously is contributing to the adoption of IAM solutions across organisations. I also predict greater adoption of detection and response capabilities such as IDS/IPS (Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems) and SIEM (Security Incident Event Management) solutions. These solutions are critical elements of an organisation’s security infrastructure as they provide real-time alerts of cyberattacks. IDS and SIEM create actionable intelligence that can be used to detect and respond more quickly and accurately than ever before.READ MORE: Click here for Tim’s exclusive seven-step IIoT cyber hygiene listEnjoyed this article? Sign up for the weekly SC Media UK newsletter on the homepage.[/logged_in]

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