Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

HEADLINES

Every third ICS computer under attack was in manufacturing companies, Kaspersky Lab reports

The peak of attackers’ activity was registered in March, after which the proportion of computers attacked gradually declined from April to June.

In the first half of the year manufacturing companies were most susceptible: ICS computers of them accounted for about one-third of all attacks, according to the Kaspersky Lab report “Threat Landscape for Industrial Automation Systems in H1 2017”. The peak of attackers’ activity was registered in March, after which the proportion of computers attacked gradually declined from April to June.

Kaspersky Lab_H1 ICS Report.jpg

During the first six months of the year, Kaspersky Lab products blocked attack attempts on 37.6% of several tens of thousands of ICS computers protected of them globally. This figure was almost unchanged compared to the previous period – it is 1.6 percentage points less than in the second half of 2016.

Majority of them were in manufacturing companies that produce various materials, equipment and goods. Other most affected industries include engineering, education, food & beverage. ICS computers of energy companies accounted for almost 5% of all attacks.

Kaspersky Lab_H1 ICS Report_2.png

Distribution of ICS computers attacked by industry, H1 2017

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

While the top three countries with attacked industrial computers remained the same with Vietnam (71%), Algeria (67.1%) and Morocco (65.4%), researchers detected an increase in number of attacks in China (57.1%), which came fifth, according to the data released by Kaspersky Lab.

Also, experts discovered that the main source of threats was Internet: attempts to download malware or access known malicious or phishing web resources were blocked on 20.4% of ICS computers.

The reason of the high statistics for this type of infection lies in unrestricted access and connection of industrial networks to the Internet, which threatens the entire industrial infrastructure.

In total, in the first six months of 2017 Kaspersky Lab detected about 18,000 different modifications of malware on industrial automation systems belonging to more than 2,500 different families.

In the first half of the year the world has been facing the ransomware epidemic, which affected industrial enterprises as well. Based on the research of Kaspersky Lab ICS CERT, the number of unique ICS computers attacked by encryption Trojans had been increasing and tripled by June.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Overall, experts discovered encryption ransomware belonging to 33 different families. Most of the encryption Trojans have been distributed through spam emails, disguised as part of the business communication, with either malicious attachments or links to malware downloaders.

The main ransomware statistics from the H1, 2017 report include:

  • 0.5% of computers in the industrial infrastructure of organizations were attacked by encryption ransomware at least once.
  • ICS computers in 63 countries across the globe were under numerous encryption ransomware attacks, the most notorious of which were WannaCry and ExPetr campaigns.
  • The WannaCry epidemic ranked highest among encryption ransomware families, with 13.4% of all computers in industrial infrastructure attacked. The most affected organizations included healthcare institutions and government sector.
  • The ExPetr was another most notorious encryption ransomware campaign of the first half of the year that attacked overall at least 50% of the companies from manufacturing, and Oil&Gas industries.
  • Top 10 most widespread encryption Trojan families include other ransomware families, such as Locky and Cerber, operating since 2016 and since that time earned the highest profit for cybercriminals.

“The fact that ICS computers in manufacturing companies accounted for about one third of all attacks, causes a great security concern, meaning high risks of cyberattack which could bring damages of enterprise’s industrial automation systems and serious consequences for businesses as a whole. Taking into consideration that in the first six months of the year we observed the active distribution of encryption malware, which we believe is set to continue, the probability of a destructive attack is even higher“, says Evgeny Goncharov, head of Critical Infrastructure Defense Department, Kaspersky Lab.

In order to protect the ICS environment from possible cyber-attacks, Kaspersky Lab ICS CERT recommends the following:

  • Take an inventory of running network services with special emphasis on services that provide remote access to file system objects.
  • Audit ICS component access isolation, the network activity in the enterprise’s industrial network and at its boundaries, policies and practices related to using removable media and portable devices.
  • Verify the security of remote access to the industrial network, as minimum, and reduce or completely eliminate the use of remote administration tools as maximum.
  • Keep endpoint security solutions up-to-date.
  • Use advanced methods of protection: deploy tools that provide network traffic monitoring and detection of cyberattacks on industrial networks.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Like Us On Facebook

You May Also Like

HEADLINES

This innovation makes eco-friendly SIMs available to Globe’s entire mobile base, with over 96% of mobile customers composed of Globe Prepaid and TM users.

HEADLINES

Located in Laguna’s fast-growing tech corridor, VSR is developed by VITRO Inc., a subsidiary of ePLDT and the data center arm of PLDT.

HEADLINES

With over 30 years of experience across technical, commercial, and leadership roles in both local and international settings, Carpio is widely regarded as one...

HEADLINES

This release will allow advertisers to proactively avoid content they deem objectionable before their ads are served, maximizing media quality, campaign performance and advertising...

HEADLINES

The partnership addresses a key challenge: limited direct access to comprehensive regulatory data.

HEADLINES

The five solutions unveiled will lay a solid foundation for aviation to “go broadband, go cloud, and go AI.”

HEADLINES

Reincubate – an innovator in edge AI and audio-video processing – and HP Inc. announced that they have formed a strategic multi-year partnership to...

Biz Solutions

Powered by the new IBM Telum  II processor, IBM z17 expands the system's capabilities beyond transactional AI capabilities to enable new workloads.

Advertisement