Cyber Threats in OT challenging the O&G Industry

As the latest technological trends compete to revolutionize the market, industrialists are tuning and fine-tuning their offshore and onshore facilities, and higher planes of their organization to interconnectivity, transparency and what not latest digital trends, the importance of cyber security flips a non-negligible priority of concern.

A cyber threat in the Oil and Gas control systems network can impact severity levels in terms of human safety, tangible assets, and the environment in the form of spills, releases, and explosions. Thereby, we see that to build successful Industry 4.0 initiatives in Oil and Gas, security can no means take a back seat.

Many studies show that cyber breaches in today’s downstream industry of connected OT and IT often occur through passive OT systems. Various models of cyber-attacks are seen including spyware, malware attacks on safety systems, service denial blocking the flow of control action, ransomware attacks blocking organizations out of their core systems etc.

As more and more IT, ICS, OT and IoT devices are connected, the larger the network and the greater stands the risks of unlocked doors. To enable a successful adaptation of a secure and robust Industry 4.0 in O&G, an integrated security strategy can follow the 3 steps below:

3 Step Approach to exacting Cyber Resiliency in Oil and Gas Industry

Visibility

You can’t know what to protect if you don’t have a picture of what’s on your network. A comprehensive visibility of your entire range of networks in real time can provide richer insights to

  • Abnormal activity patterns in network
  • Optimal network traffic to prevent queuing of data
  • Location, vendor details, and count of legitimate and non-legitimate devices on the network.
  • Communication protocols through which devices communicate.
  • Identify potentially vulnerable vendor devices.
  • Indication of latest patch and unpatched devices.

Proactive monitoring enables you take complete control of your OT security by allowing or restricting device communications to only the required source.

Segmentation

A segmented network with various layers of security is much more robust than a network having a flat structure. A hacker once in, could easily move around laterally to access the required. Segmenting networks can limit the perimeter of attacks an attacker can indulge into, and limit planned or unintended OT-IoT cyber collisions from spreading.

Continuous Safeguarding

Safeguarding the network and corresponding devices can never be a one-time job. Continuous monitoring and preemptive actions will be required to maintain security. Using the right protective platform can provide a consistent + safe + aligned solution for OT-IT operational efficiency.

How can CONSYST help?

Contact our experts to know the best cyber security implementation approach suitable for your Oil and Gas Industry.

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