As Industrial Systems Surge, Overconfidence Increases Risks

According to an article from Symantec, attacks on industrial control systems (ICS) and Internet of Things (IoT) on the upswing, but organizations aren’t always doing enough to defend themselves. Symantec notes it logged a six-fold increase in the number attacks on customers’ IoT systems last year. Elsewhere, 41 percent of ICS computers were attacked in the first half of 2018, up from 37 percent a year earlier. Most business leadership’s view of their ability to secure their operational networks and Industrial IoT (IIoT) systems remains optimistic – perhaps more than is warranted by the facts on the ground. More than 90 percent of company executives are at least somewhat confident that in their ability to secure their control devices and systems, according to the 2018 SANS Industrial IoT Security Survey. Security professionals who have to deal with those systems, however, have a less rosy view. Only two-thirds of operational technology professionals are at least somewhat confident in their ability to secure their networks, leaving a third with no faith in their ability to secure such systems. Read the article at Symantec.