Industrial controls systems, which are becoming more automated and connected, will continue to be targets of a growing number of cyber attacks, according to Kaspersky Lab executives.
Vikram Kalkat, Senior Key Account Manager, Kaspersky Industrial Security APAC at Kaspersky Lab, in a recent press event, says that more threats are likely to happen as the industrial sector embraces automation and technologies such as the Internet of Things.
Kalkat noted that awareness of cyber threats is key to keeping industrial plants and critical infrastructure up and running. “Awareness on industrial cyber security (ICS) is a major challenge enterprises see in addressing ICS threats across critical infrastructure,” said Kalkat.
Kalkat added that organizations must look at the “unknown,” which consists of 38% of threats that they are not aware of. “You cannot protect everything because there are new techniques coming out, there are new ways of threats coming out, there are a lot of new ransomware coming out and it is a global event. It is about how we protect ourselves from these unknown threats.”
In the Philippines, 30% of the attacks on industrial control systems in 2016 were made by malware.
Kaspersky Industrial Cyber Security
As cyber attacks continue to grow, the provision for protection against these threats is important. In response to this, Kaspersky Lab has introduced the Kaspersky Industrial Cyber Security (KICS), a portfolio of technologies and services designed for operations technology (OT) to solve end-to-end environment problems, and is compatible with a range of industry solutions.
KICS solution provides security at all industrial layers including SCADA servers, HMI panels, workstations, PLCs and network connections from cyber threats, without impacting the operational continuity and consistency of the technological process. It delivers security in support of integrity control, intrusion prevention and detection, anti-malware and anomaly detection, among others.
Kaspersky Lab also has a non-commercial project called Industrial Systems Computer Emergency Response Team, also known as Kaspersky Lab ICS-CERT. It is a global CERT entity that welcomes the collaboration of critical infrastructure operators, vendors and government institutions.
This ICS-CERT offers a wide range of information services, from the intelligence on the latest threats and security incidents with mitigation strategies to incident response and investigation consultancy and services. It shares information and expertise to its members free of charge.