The Cyber Defense eMagazine January Edition for 2024

Keeping Critical Infrastructure Secure
While it is unlikely to ever secure IT and OT environments 100%, risk reduction strategies can be put into
place to prevent cyberattacks from becoming successful. Organizations should understand and prioritize
the most critical operational functions that, if disrupted by a direct cyberattack or the loss of a key thirdparty
service, would have a significant impact on the ability to operate. For instance, if a single facility
accounts for 90% of a company’s revenue or a single substation services a key national security site in
a remote location, these assets are likely top priorities to keep operational and reduce downtime. Once
these critical functions are identified, the organization can map the IT and OT network pathways that
support these systems and implement security or engineering controls to reduce risks of downtime or
failure.
Identifying and mitigating known vulnerabilities are also critical steps in the risk reduction process.
Organizations can make significant gains by simply closing gaps that are widely known to exist. Installing
cybersecurity sensors for 24/7 monitoring can also lead to faster mitigation action to limit damage from a
cyberattack. Cyberattacks can occur at any time and having a dedicated team available on call to identify
and respond to an incident can limit downtime and the potential for the event becoming a more
widespread issue.
Closing vulnerabilities and implementing network monitoring are effective measures for reducing cyber
risks in existing critical infrastructure but to really get ahead of the risks presented by a growing attack
surface, cybersecurity and resilience should be addressed at the earliest design and planning phases of
new projects. This kind of collaboration, commonly referred to as Cyber-Informed Engineering, consists
of discussions among cybersecurity professionals, engineers and project designers to identify and
address cyber risks in the control and safety of automated systems. When done at the front end, this
approach can make the implementation of cybersecurity controls more effective, efficient and costeffective
rather than trying to add these measures on after the capital project is completed.
Adversaries often look for the path of least resistance when it comes to seeking an attack vector to take
down a valuable asset. For critical infrastructure — or any organization — it’s important to proactively
safeguard systems to keep communities supplied with crucial services. Having a cybersecurity plan in
place to identify potential vulnerabilities and putting a plan in place to respond to an attack are vital for
maintaining the reliability and resiliency of critical infrastructure.
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