New Comprehensive Cyber Security Guidelines for Operational Technology
“One of the driving forces behind IT and OT convergence is cyber security of operational systems, like SCADA, MES, controllers, etc. OT has typically been managed as individual devices, which has made it very difficult for IT to maintain its cyber security mandate,” said Kevin Prouty, Group VP for IDC Energy Insights and Manufacturing Insights. “Senior executives are tasking operations executives to get their OT systems integrated into the overall enterprise cyber security governance. IDC’s IT/OT Convergence survey from 2018 shows that 65 percent of manufacturing, mining, oil & gas and utility companies see cyber security as the highest priority in IT and OT governance.”
“OTCSA aims to bridge dangerous gaps in security for critical and OT infrastructure and ICS to support and improve the daily lives of citizens and workers in an evolving world,” said Satish Gannu, Chief Security Officer, ABB & Senior Vice President, Architecture and Analytics, ABB Ability™. “Industry collaboration to establish guidelines is required to quickly advance the posture of OT, which is already a decade behind IT when it comes to security.”
There has been various reports from the different members of the this new alliance, some of them include;
We are in a pivotal moment for critical infrastructure protection. As the nature of the threats we face becomes increasingly sophisticated, the OTCSA will provide an essential forum to bring together those who protect operational technology – like Mocana – and those who own and deploy it. Through listening to each other, we believe the entire OT sector can come together to make the world a safer place.” – Dean Weber, CTO, Mocana
“Our primary mission at NCC Group is to enable the strongest security possible from the very beginning of every project, and as a service provider, we have the freedom to implement vendor-neutral solutions that are most appropriate in each particular installation. We see every day the need for greater protection in many critical infrastructures, and we look forward to working with other industry leaders within the OTCSA to raise the level of security preparedness in operational technologies and industrial control systems.” – Kevin Dunn, SVP, NCC Group
“We are proud to be a member of the OTCSA and to work with other industry leaders to further the goal of bridging gaps in security for OT and critical infrastructures and industrial control systems (ICS). The time where individual companies provided security solutions that customers and operators had to ‘bolt on’ has passed. It is now about ‘building security in,’ which can only be achieved if we all work together, drastically reducing the growing cybersecurity risks as a result.” – Philippe Courtot, Chairman and CEO, Qualys.
