The technological integration of IT&OT networks due to digital transformation leverages data and analytics to provide innovative capabilities, interconnected systems, and streamlined efficiencies. This convergence has also expanded the attack surface leading to new risks. Digital success will depend more on robust security strategies and approaches as industrial connectedness is bound to proliferate exponentially. Be it discovering existing security weaknesses or foreseeing future risks; enterprises feel the need to have next-gen proactive security solutions and capabilities to ensure total visibility & enable risk management for strengthening their ability to combat complex attacks.

Industrial OT Security Challenges

  • Increasing number of malicious actors targeting the OT/IIOT domain
  • Minimal visibility into the security posture of OT assets
  • Legacy defense mechanisms are easily bypassed by complex, malicious entities
  • Improper implementation/utilization of existing security controls
  • Complex, heterogeneous, and in-secure by design nature of industrial networks
  • Unawareness on how to use Threat Intelligence (TI) to enable security operations team readiness
  • Shortage of qualified ICS/OT security resources & manpower
  • Lack of security awareness amongst staff members

Key Security Risks in OT

Lack of comprehensive visibility and monitoring of OT assets

Lack of OT systems visibility and continuous monitoring can put the entire OT ecosystem at risk of operational breakdown. Security incidents can happen due to the inability to know vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and root-cause of incidents.

Absence of change control process for configuration management

Unauthorized or incorrect changes can cause misconfigurations in ICS/OT systems, leading to compliance violations posing a risk to the operational stability, safety, and security of these systems.

Insider threat and human errors

Systems might get compromised by unauthorized or incorrectly configured firmware or hardware by employees or external personnel. Employees can (unintentionally) install malware through phishing emails or insert USB devices into their IT/OT systems.

Malware and ransomware infection through the internet or intranet

Internet exposed OT assets or infected IT systems can pose severe malware and ransomware threats to the OT environment, potentially causing production downtime, loss of sensitive intellectual property, environmental incidents etc.

End-to-End Aujas services to secure OT&IT environments

 

OT Security

OT Firewalls & Network Architecture Review

OT Firewalls Review

  • Perform review in context to existing OT environment
  • Follow industry practices, secure design principles, compliance & benchmarks
  • Access policies and rules misconfigurations, rules duplication & repetition
  • Access or deny logs, security updates
  • Unwanted object rules definition
  • Improper implementation of DMZ isolation, network segmentation/zoning configuration

OT Network Architecture Review

  • Perform review based on authentication & access control, remote access, network segmentation, endpoints & network security, and logs management
  • Use available technical documents from existing network architecture layout, and workshops/discussions with the OT engineers
  • Combine the collated knowledge with the assets inventory, network mappings & its visualizations based on the Purdue model from the OT platforms to detect flaws, attack vectors/paths, or misconfigurations

OT Security Management Platform Design & Implementation

  • Set-up OT security management platform through secure-by-design approach
  • Avail platform capabilities such as assets discovery & inventory, advanced threat protection, secure remote access, risk-based vulnerability & configuration change management
  • Integration with privileged identity & access management
  • Remote access solutions for OT devices & networks, workflow integration with enterprise firewalls, SIEM, SOAR, ITSM platforms

OT Security Risk Assessment Services

Security Risks & Gaps, Regulatory Compliance Audit, and Assessment Services

  • Risk assessment services such as grey-box security assessments, configuration review of OT devices, platforms, and underlying infrastructure
  • Network traffic analysis through a network packets capture
  • Audit & assessment, reporting of industrial regulatory compliance standards & frameworks (IEC-62443/ISA99, NIST)
  • Assess gaps in processes, technical and procedure related controls
  • Evaluate through OT management platforms to discover devices, vulnerabilities & misconfigurations, attack vectors, unauthorized connections doing non-intrusive packet mirroring through a configured SPAN port/TAP points in OT network switches

OT Managed Security Services

Continuous Threat Management Services

  • 24x7x365 and prioritized security risks & threats detection & monitoring, incident response & management services using Aujas Cyber Defense Center (CDC)
  • Proactively identify and manage incidents by detecting OT protocols & policy violations, industrial malware, network anomalies, and operational issues of OT network, based on industry standard framework such as NIST for incident response & management
  • Deliver threat intelligence feeds curated for industrial security and IOC/hypothesis driven threat hunting capabilities across OT domain
  • Administer and manage the entire lifecycle of the OT security management platform
  • Deliver threats & operational alerts, incidents, and compliance reporting on a daily/weekly/monthly basis

Delivery Framework

Success Story - Leading Cement Manufacturing Company

Leading cement manufacturing company in India with an installed capacity of 100+ million tons per annum having multiple manufacturing plants across the globe has initiated an OT security program to secure OT devices and underlying infrastructure. The program included OT devices & infrastructure security, security architecture review, security assessments, and process audits.

Business Problem

The client wanted to assess the current security posture of their OT devices, infrastructure, and processes. Aujas team helped the client to evaluate the current security posture through the below services:

  • Deployment of Microsoft Defender for IoT (CyberX) to assess the OT devices
  • OT Security Architecture Review
  • OT Firewall Review

The team used IEC62443/ISA 99 standards to perform these activities and uncovered security risks in OT devices and underlying infrastructure. Aujas’s outcome-based security framework helped the client enhance security processes, securing OT devices and infrastructure through remediation of reported vulnerabilities.

Solution Components

OT Security Assessment

  • Aujas deployed and configured Microsoft Defender for IoT (CyberX) sensor at strategic locations in the client OT network identified after reviewing the plant architecture to capture traffic passively without hampering the regular plant activities.
  • Aujas successfully provided the client with a full view of their security posture by using a patented traffic analysis technology of the OT security management platform.
  • The client benefited from this activity by getting a detailed inventory listing of all the devices connected in the monitored network along with their interactions, protocols used, vulnerability status, potential attack surface, and remediation advisory for all in-scope site’s OT assets.

OT Architecture Review

  • Aujas did OT landscape review in discussion with OT & network team and technical stakeholders.
  • Provided client with a report on OT network architecture review with advisory on identified risks, gaps, and recommendations for improvements.

OT Firewall Review

  • Aujas reviewed the client firewalls and provided them with a report on OT firewall review with advisory on identified firewalls misconfigurations, excessive configured rules access, and recommendations for improvements.