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Recognizing the assets within your Operational Technology network bolsters risk management by enabling the prioritization of securing high-risk systems.
In brief
- Clear asset inventory aids swift incident response, minimizing the impact of the attack and preventing system-wide intrusion.
- Asset recognition also facilitates effective network segmentation, isolating components to limit cyber intrusion impacts.
The world of Operational Technology (OT) security lends itself to a popular proverb: "You can't protect what you don't know." This principle emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive and accurate asset inventory for protecting cyber assets. Without such an understanding, developing effective protective measures becomes a monumental challenge.
Asset awareness is critical for mitigating potential risks and enhancing cybersecurity infrastructure, especially within the energy sector. Recognizing the importance of this mantra propels energy organizations to strengthen their defenses, assuring the security of their crucial infrastructure with key benefits.
Enhanced risk management
An enhanced approach to risk management is born from understanding the assets within your OT network. Recognizing the levels of criticality for each asset allows organizations to prioritize investments and mitigation efforts towards securing high-risk systems. By following this targeted approach, resources are effectively utilized, consequently reducing potential risks and financial losses.
Strengthened vulnerability management
Understanding your assets is pivotal to strengthening vulnerability management through regular assessments and effective patch management. Continuous monitoring and updating of known vulnerabilities ensure that the formidable systems are fortified against emerging threats. This proactive approach is a critical line of defense against attackers exploiting known network vulnerabilities.
Improved incident response
In the event of a cyber-attack, a clear inventory of assets facilitates a significantly improved incident response. It enables prompt identification of compromised systems, allowing them to be isolated and remedied promptly. Such a swift response greatly minimizes the impact of the attack and prevents system-wide compromise.
Effective access controls
Establishing and maintaining robust access controls within your OT network also extensively benefit from asset tracking. Appreciating sensitive or mission-critical assets allows for implementing suitable authentication mechanisms and access controls, thus deterring unauthorized access and reducing the chances of internal threats.
Regulatory compliance
Compliance with various regional and cross-jurisdictional regulations, such as NERC SIP[1] in the USA and NIS Directives[2] across the EU, is crucial for the energy sector. Maintaining an up-to-date overview of assets simplifies regulatory audits and ensures compliance.
Effective change management
Change management within the OT network is also significantly streamlined with a detailed asset inventory. When changes or upgrades are necessary, a comprehensive understanding of existing assets allows for proper planning, assessing potential impact, and conducting thorough testing. This minimizes disruptions and reduces the likelihood of introducing new vulnerabilities.
Improved network segmentation
Recognizing your assets also contributes to effective network segmentation, a crucial measure in limiting the impact of cyber intrusions. Isolating different components prevents the spreading of breaches and halt lateral attacker movement.
Efficient asset lifecycle management
Additionally, efficient management of the asset lifecycle is crucial. Assets within OT networks have finite lifecycles, necessitating tracking their usage, health, and status over time. A proactive approach to maintenance and timely asset replacement optimizes operational disruptions and system reliability.
In conclusion, asset discovery and understanding in OT networks are critical processes in the effective management and protection of OT networks as part of critical infrastructure. It enables organizations to comprehend the network architecture, regulatory and compliance requirements and potential risks non-compliance presents. Passive scanning approaches alongside device profiling, active industrial protocol probing, and configuration analysis significantly improve the process. By proactively identifying, managing, and protecting their assets, energy organizations secure their critical infrastructure and guarantee a smooth operational flow.
Summary
Understanding network structure, regulatory demands, and compliance prerequisites, along with identifying the potential risks of non-compliance, are crucial.