Cybersecurity for Industrial Controls and Operational Technology Environments | Security Fabric

Summary

Digital transformation is revolutionizing industrial operations, but it also exposes organizations to increased cyber threats. As IT and OT networks converge, vulnerabilities like unsecured industrial controllers can lead to costly system crashes and safety risks. Fortinet's security fabric offers robust solutions to secure data, enable remote access, and protect IT/OT networks. Its products provide segmentation, ruggedized equipment for harsh environments, and zero trust access controls. Fortinet's unified security operations center and industrial security services ensure comprehensive protection against OT vulnerabilities, promoting safe and secure operations.

Takeaways

• 🌐 Digital transformation is altering the operations of industrial organizations through greater data sharing and improved productivity.
• 🔗 As operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) networks converge, the reliance on implicit trust in industrial network connectivity is shifting.
• 🛡️ The evolving connectivity expands the attack surface for organizations, exposing industrial controllers that were not designed with built-in security.
• 🚨 Cyber attacks on industrial controllers can have severe consequences, including system crashes that halt production and result in significant financial losses.
• 🏭 Examples of severe impacts include manufacturing floor outages, oil rig cybersecurity outages that threaten human safety and infrastructure, and environmental harm from oil spills.
• 🚚 Transportation companies with large fleets are also at risk, where outages can lead to weeks of downtime and substantial financial losses.
• 🔒 Securing connected OT environments is complex, but solutions like Fortinet's security fabric can help manage this complexity while ensuring data security.
• 🌐 Fortinet's solutions support digital transformation by securing data, enabling remote access, and protecting converged IT/OT networks.
• 🛠️ Fortinet offers ruggedized equipment designed to withstand harsh climates for industrial environments like oil rigs, electrical substations, and warehouses.
• 🔑 Fortinet's zero trust products facilitate secure remote access for authorized users, leveraging VPN, multi-factor authentication, and network access control.
• 🤝 The convergence of IT and OT, while challenging, presents opportunities for unified security operations, including SIM and SOAR capabilities.
• 🛡️ Fortinet Guard's Industrial Security Service provides comprehensive security for OT environments with specific application protocol signatures and protection against known vulnerabilities.

Q & A

What is digital transformation doing to industrial organizations?

Digital transformation is changing the way industrial organizations operate by enabling greater data sharing, improved productivity, and increased connectivity.

How does the convergence of operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) networks impact industrial security?

The convergence of OT and IT networks expands the organization's attack surface, exposing industrial controllers that were not designed with built-in security to cyber attacks, thus increasing the risk to operations.

What are the potential consequences of a system crash on a manufacturing floor?

A system crash on a manufacturing floor can stop production for hours, potentially costing millions of dollars in ruined products.

Why are cybersecurity outages on an oil rig particularly dangerous?

Cybersecurity outages on an oil rig could jeopardize both human safety and critical infrastructure, with the potential for an oil spill that can affect a company's bottom line and cause serious environmental harm.

What kind of losses can transportation companies with large fleets face due to outages?

Transportation companies with large fleets can face weeks of downtime and losses in the hundreds of thousands of dollars due to outages.

How does Fortinet's security fabric help in securing connected OT environments?

Fortinet's security fabric includes solutions that enable digital transformation while securing data, ensuring remote access, and protecting converged IT/OT networks.

What does Fortinet offer for OT environments exposed to harsh elements like oil rigs, electrical substations, and industrial warehouses?

Fortinet offers ruggedized equipment designed to withstand even the harshest climates, ensuring reliable operation in such environments.

How does Fortinet's zero trust approach benefit remote users with expertise in industrial settings?

Fortinet's zero trust products enable authorized remote users to connect securely using ZTNA VPN and multi-factor authentication, allowing them to manage distributed industrial assets from afar.

What is the role of a unified security operations center in managing IT and OT environments?

A unified security operations center allows for the management of all environments from a single point, including SIM and SOAR offerings that can ingest and respond to data from both IT and OT environments, and manage devices and policies on both sides.

How does FortiGuard's Industrial Security Service contribute to securing OT environments?

ForteGuard's Industrial Security Service helps secure OT environments with over 2,000 OT-specific application protocol signatures and protection against over 500 known OT vulnerabilities, backed by continuous threat intelligence from FortiGuard Labs.

What overarching benefit does the Fortinet security fabric provide for OT and IT operations?

The Fortinet security fabric delivers comprehensive security across OT and IT, ensuring safe, available, and secure operations, providing cybersecurity everywhere it is needed.