I recently joined industry colleagues and the World Economic Forum in publishing, “Unlocking Cyber Resilience in Industrial Environments: Five Principles.” It’s a comprehensive guide designed to enhance cybersecurity in operational technology (OT) environments. Our white paper underscores the significance of cybersecurity in OT environments, particularly in the context of digitalization and the convergence of IT/OT. It also emphasizes the need for a collaborative effort across both public and private sectors to achieve cyber resilience.

While digitalization and connectivity offer significant business opportunities, they also expose organizations to cyber threats. To enhance cyber resilience, we outlined five guiding principles:

  1. Comprehensive Risk Management: Conduct a thorough risk assessment and management of the OT environment.
  2. Responsibility of OT Engineers and Operators: Ensure accountability for cybersecurity among those operating and engineering OT systems.
  3. Alignment with Leadership and Strategic Planning: Work closely with top organizational leadership and third parties to integrate security-by-design in OT systems.
  4. Enforcement of Cybersecurity Standards and Best Practices: Enforce cybersecurity standards and practices contractually on partners and vendors.
  5. Preparedness through Joint Tabletop Exercises: Conduct exercises to ensure readiness for potential cyber incidents.

The white paper also offers strategies for effectively implementing these principles, such as identifying and classifying assets, creating inventories of critical assets, detecting vulnerabilities, and establishing robust cybersecurity strategies. Additionally, it suggests that regular audits, real-time monitoring, and periodic benchmarking are critical to assessing the effectiveness of implemented cybersecurity principles in OT environments.

The paper highlights the entrance of innovative technologies to OT. Connectivity, AI, cloud computing, and IoT, are changing the traditional landscape, and bringing new capabilities to the industry. OT is becoming smart and connected, with the benefits, it brings cyber threats must be addressed.

Check Point helps to secure the transition of OT to the digital era. The imperative for robust cybersecurity is paramount. This sector demands a holistic approach to security, one that encompasses the entire industry. This means that all components in the supply chain and inside the factory are protected. The aim is to implement a comprehensive and consolidated management strategy that not only addresses current threats but is also adaptable to future challenges. By doing so, we can safeguard the integral processes and infrastructures that are vital to the functioning of OT, ensuring both efficiency and resilience against evolving cyber threats. The paper stresses the need for skilled talent and proper governance measures to manage cybersecurity risks associated with these technologies.

Protecting IoT and OT Devices Check Point

Check Point introduced Quantum IoT Protect for manufacturers to help them implement security-by-design methodology for their devices and to help them comply with new cybersecurity standards for vendors and manufacturers, in three steps: Assessment, Hardening, and Monitoring.

Assessment: To ensure that OT and IoT devices do not pose risks to the users, we offer a cloud service that scans firmware of devices and provide full security posture on weaknesses and vulnerabilities inside devices.

Hardening: We provide manufacturers with Quantum IoT Protect Nano agent. This is a revolutionary on-device runtime protection with built-in firmware security that defends against the most sophisticated cyberattacks.

Monitoring: Nano agent can operate as a standalone product or managed in Check Point Infinity Portal, allow users to manage all OT and IoT assets in a consolidated management, with full visibility for events and incidents.

Protecting ICS and OT Networks with Check Point

In this digital era, businesses must earnestly consider adopting seamless and automated security measures to combat the escalating connectivity of industrial systems posing an increased threat to ICS and OT networks, ultimately minimizing the risk of downtime.

At Check Point, we not only advocate for robust cybersecurity but also exemplify it in our solutions, ensuring the effective protection of ICS and OT networks without compromising service uptime. Our commitment extends to safeguarding data integrity, maintaining compliance adherence, and upholding public safety. Addressing these critical needs, Check Point’s ICS Security solution and newly introduced Quantum Rugged 1595R security gateways combine network segmentation, automated security protocols, and advanced threat intelligence to fortify critical infrastructure. Our integrated approach ensures protection against even the most sophisticated cyberattacks, all while minimizing disruption to production operations.

Check Point’s ICS security solution boasts a formidable 99.7% catch rate for Gen-V cyberattacks and provides full visibility of connected assets within a unified Infinity cybersecurity architecture. The latest addition, the Quantum 1595R, is a pivotal component of the Quantum Rugged line of NGFWs, offering comprehensive visibility and precise control over all network traffic. Tailored for challenging environments, this security gateway enhances the Quantum Rugged series by delivering proven integrated AI security, high-speed secure 5G connectivity, and other advanced features.

The Check Point Quantum Rugged 1595R is designed to withstand harsh environments, offering:

  • 400Mbps of AI-powered threat prevention
  • Comprehensive asset discovery
  • IT-OT network segmentation
  • Secure 5G connectivity at 1Gbps
  • Support for 1,830 SCADA and ICS Protocols & CommandsUltimately, securing industrial sectors requires strong public and private collaboration. By following these five guiding principles, we believe manufacturing and industrial organizations can secure their operations and build cyber resiliency, in the face of evolving digital landscapes.

 

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