A new survey conducted by professional researchers in industries using industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT) found that 90% of respondents said their systems had been hit by at least one cyberattack in the past two years, with 62% reporting two or more cyberattacks.
A graph presented in the report shows that the number 1 attack affecting systems is "phishing" which resulted in the theft of credentials by an employee of the company who falls victim to email fraud.
More than a third (37%) report at least one major outage caused by malware, and nearly a quarter of businesses (23%) report at least one national-level attack. More than a fifth (23%) report at least one instance of financial espionage or cyber extortion (21%), such as a ransomware attack.
According to Eitan Goldstein, senior director of strategic initiatives at Tenable, people who manage critical systems like those in manufacturing plants and the transportation industry almost unanimously say they are constantly struggling to protect these businesses from cyberattacks. It is imperative that organizations have a clear picture of their IT/OT environment, not only to identify existing vulnerabilities, but also to prioritize what needs to be remediated first.
Staffing shortages and reliance on manual processes were cited by 61% and 55% of respondents, respectively, as serious barriers to their ability to assess and remediate vulnerabilities. 70% of respondents also consider communication with executives and board members to be a priority for 2019.
