Take a proactive approach to OT cybersecurity
Building owners also need to create a reliable building environment that helps system uptime and enable better incident management. Cybersecurity is critical to resilience.
Today, many conversations about cybersecurity focus primarily on information technology (IT) systems rather than OT environments. OT environments that control, monitor and actuate processes, equipment and operational environments are often overlooked, but they are just as important to security. The number of cyberattacks on critical infrastructures, globally, are cause for concern. Given the potentially exploitable nature of OT systems, it is imperative that building owners deploy the right strategies to best protect their systems.
As buildings and their systems become more connected to the cloud, via Internet of Things (IoT), responsible building owners should take the steps necessary to understand their cybersecurity risks and accountability to mitigate them. With increasing cybersecurity risks, tougher regulations and complex interconnected systems, building owners need a simple, centralized way to administer enterprise cybersecurity that encompasses both OT and IT systems.
At a tactical level, this means correcting common vulnerabilities, such as outdated or unpatched software or communication protocols that lack stringent security measures. As threat actors continue to gain critical mass and learn to exploit new vulnerabilities, buildings need products and protocols that can quickly identify exposure and prevent or mitigate breaches.
A layered approach to protection is important as well as using solutions such as the Honeywell Threat Defense Platform (HTDP). HTDP uses autonomous, AI-powered deception tactics to outsmart attackers, as well as high-fidelity threat detection to deter and control attacks. These kinds of technologies confuse and mislead attackers away from critical assets, resulting in higher rates of detection with little to no alert fatigue. HTDP leads threat actors to ‘decoys’ that appear to be valuable OT and IT assets but provides no access to actual enterprise devices. The solution makes real, critical operational devices harder to find, slowing down adversaries and helping security teams capture them faster.
Organizations can no longer treat the buildings they own or occupy as just another tick on the balance sheet. They have to think of them as part of their overall business strategy which means it’s not about adding point solutions to your technology approach but taking an outcome-based approach to solving your biggest challenges.
