Energy and Utility Companies Have Critical Security Vulnerabilities
According to a Fortinet survey of operational technology (OT) professionals, 93 percent of organizations experienced at least one intrusion over the previous year; 78 percent experienced more than three intrusions. The most common impacts of these attacks were downtime, financial or data loss, and brand degradation.
Most concerning: Respondents also cited reduced physical safety as a common impact. While that report focused on OT more broadly, there is also evidence that attacks directed specifically at infrastructure and control systems are becoming more common.
According to research by the Organization of American States and Trend Micro, 54 percent of critical infrastructure suppliers in the U.S. reported attempts to access control systems, and 40 percent experienced attempts to shut down these systems. And more than half reported an increase in attacks.