Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SOFTWARE

Microsoft releases third edition of Cyber Signals

OT is a combination of hardware and software across programmable systems or devices that interact with the physical environment (or manage devices that interact with the physical environment).

Microsoft has released its third edition of Cyber Signals, a regular cyberthreat intelligence brief spotlighting security trends and insights gathered from Microsoft’s 43 trillion daily security signals and 8,500 security experts. This edition highlights new insights on the wider risks that converging IT, Internet-of-Things (IoT), and Operational Technology (OT) systems pose to critical infrastructure, and how enterprises can defend against these attacks.

OT is a combination of hardware and software across programmable systems or devices that interact with the physical environment (or manage devices that interact with the physical environment). Examples of OT can include building management systems, fire control systems, and physical access control mechanisms, like doors and elevators.

With increasing connectivity across converging IT, OT, and IoT, organizations and individuals need to rethink cyber risk impact and consequences. Similar to how the loss of a laptop or modern vehicle containing a homeowner’s cached Wi-Fi credentials could grant a property thief unauthorized network access, compromising a manufacturing facility’s remotely connected equipment or a smart building’s security cameras introduces new vectors for threats like malware or industrial espionage.

Vasu Jakkal, Corporate Vice President for Security, Compliance, Identity, and Management at Microsoft, said: “As OT systems underpinning energy, transportation, and other infrastructures become increasingly connected to IT systems, the risk of disruption and damage grows as boundaries blur between these formerly separated worlds. For businesses and infrastructure operators across industries, the defensive imperatives are gaining total visibility over connected systems and weighing evolving risks and dependencies.”

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Key insights shared in this edition of Cyber Signals include:

  • Microsoft identified unpatched, high-severity vulnerabilities in 75% of the most common industrial controllers in customer OT networks. This illustrates how challenging it is for even well‑resourced organizations to patch control systems in demanding environments sensitive to downtime.[1]
  • There has been a 78% increase in disclosures of high-severity vulnerabilities from 2020 to 2022 in industrial control equipment produced by popular vendors.1
  • Over 1 million connected devices are publicly visible on the Internet running Boa, an outdated and unsupported software still widely used in IoT devices and software development kits.1

For businesses and individuals, securing IoT solutions with a Zero Trust security model starts with non-IoT specific requirements. This can be achieved by specifically ensuring they have implemented the basics to securing identities and their devices and limiting their access. These requirements include explicitly verifying users, having visibility into the devices on the network, and real-time risk detections.

To learn more about IT, OT, and IoT threats, read the third edition of Cyber Signals today. To learn more about Microsoft Security solutions and keep up with expert coverage on security matters, visit the Microsoft Security website and Microsoft Security blog.


[1] Methodology: For snapshot data, Microsoft platforms including Microsoft Defender for IoT, Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center and Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence provided anonymized data on device vulnerabilities, such as configuration states and versions, and data on threat activity on components and devices. In addition, researchers used data from public sources, such as the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) and Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The cover stat is based on Microsoft engagements in 2022. Control systems in critical environments include electronic or mechanical devices which utilize control loops for improved production, efficiency, and safety.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Like Us On Facebook

You May Also Like

HEADLINES

Teleperformance in the Philippines won two awards in the public relations categories of Special Events & Exhibits, and Good Governance/Social Responsibility/Responsible Citizenship for their...

HEADLINES

DigiCOOP, the largest online platform for cooperatives and labor unions in the Philippines, announced a partnership with Singapore-based tech startup ADVANCE.AI to power the provision of...

HEADLINES

The rulebook on where and how we work has been ripped up and we are in a new paradigm of productivity where choice and...

HEADLINES

For the certification, experts from TÜV Rheinland will verify the actual carbon emissions from a company’s daily business activities – from procurement and supply...

HEADLINES

With Microsoft’s multi-cloud management platform and support services, ATRAM was able to expand and extend the scope of its capabilities with data, making its...

HEADLINES

In the Philippines, LinkedIn data shows that skills to do any particular job have changed by 31% on average since 2015 and could go...

HEADLINES

For the Philippines in particular, the country has an opportunity to build on rapid growth in the previous decade – particularly in the manufacturing...

HEADLINES

How can electric utilities step up to support the growing usage of renewable energy and help the country achieve its clean power targets? 

Advertisement