ICS SECURITY: Definition and All You Need to Know

Understanding ICS security is crucial for ensuring the reliability and safety of industrial operations. With the increasing connectivity of these systems to the internet, the risk of cyber-attacks has grown significantly, making it essential for organizations to implement robust security measures. So to help you get a hang of this, this article will explore the definition of ICS security and delve into the key aspects that individuals and organizations need to know to protect critical infrastructure from cyber threats.

What is ICS security?

Industrial control systems (ICS) are frequently the focus of cyberattacks. Most of these systems monitor intricate industrial operations and vital infrastructures that provide manufacturing, transportation, water, power, and other necessities. These devices were essentially dumb originally, and the computerized ones ran on networks protected by external security measures and proprietary protocols.

It’s a different tale nowadays. Since the world has evolved, most industrial control systems are directly or indirectly connected to the Internet. The distinction is that an ICS network breach or outage might cause widespread disruptions, affect hundreds of thousands of users, or even cause a national emergency—a security framework known as “ICS security” guards these systems from unintentional or deliberate threats.

How ICS Security Works

By ensuring the procedures that support machinery are well protected from cyber threats, ICS security places a high priority on machinery operation. While preventing mishaps is the primary goal, personnel may be able to contact an ICS security number in certain circumstances to receive rapid assistance if their safety or the safety of the public is in jeopardy following an incident.

Additionally, effective ICS administration is ensured by ICS security. This can entail maintaining complete visibility over the functioning of production floor gear from a control room or center equipped with many dashboards reporting vital data.

Common ICS Threats

Industrial system security is a complex undertaking. Most were constructed before the initial cyber threat emerged, and their designs did not incorporate any exterior security measures. The first line of defense against network risks for any industrial organization is to understand some of the most prevalent ones involving industrial control systems.

#1. Targeted Attacks and External Dangers

It is understandable why terrorist organizations, hacktivists, and other hostile organizations frequently target industrial control systems, given that these systems often fall under the purview of chemical engineering, manufacturing, distribution, and healthcare. While industrial espionage attacks are more likely to be focused on stealing or damaging intellectual property (IP), politically motivated attacks are typically more concerned with causing bodily harm or operational disruption.

#2. Insider Threats

The internal danger is significant, ranging from angry workers to contractors who have a grudge. This implies that any device on the network, including SCADA software and other crucial elements, will typically be accessible to insiders without restriction. Upgrading a system to connect to a digital interface makes it easy for malware or a USB device designed to download private data to infiltrate it.

#3. Human Error

Humans make mistakes by nature. On the other hand, errors in an industrial control system network can be expensive and severely affect operations and reputation. Incorrect settings, PLC programming mistakes, and failing to watch important metrics or warnings are examples of human error.

The Top 5 Best Practices for ICS Security

Elevating the bar for safeguarding vital infrastructure has been a growing demand, as highlighted by the Biden administration in their most recent National Cybersecurity Strategy. The Department of Energy (DOE) is spearheading efforts to improve cybersecurity for rural utilities. At the same time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a memorandum to assess cybersecurity concerns related to drinking water systems.

The following fundamental procedures are frequently seen in the most prominent OT cybersecurity standards, regardless of whether you are subject to NERC-CIP regulations, evaluating other frameworks, or creating guidelines. There are more cyber threats than ever before targeting industrial businesses, ranging from ransomware operations to nation-state attacks. You must implement the following procedures to safeguard your operations against these growing dangers:

#1. Gain a Thorough Understanding of Every Industrial Control System Device

Applying security controls or best practices requires a thorough inventory of ICS assets. Furthermore, we’re not simply discussing software and hardware, though those topics are undoubtedly significant. Access to information such as a device’s physical location, its significance to an industrial process, and the person to contact in the event of a problem is also necessary. You won’t be able to accomplish anything with security-related information until you know these specifics. For other IT solutions that do not scan, you may also need to install an agent that does not work with old Windows/Linux and niche operating systems, which are common in ICS environments.

What choices do you have now? Passive network monitoring is one inventory technique that has been very popular lately in the ICS security industry. This approach is acceptable and should be one asset management strategy component. The problem is that this approach only provides limited information about an asset, mainly if it runs on a legacy operating system. It leaves out crucial components like software, executables, patches, registry entries, open ports, and services. A combination of agent, agentless, native ICS protocol polling, and passive monitoring techniques helps you get the most accurate image of what’s in your systems. It guarantees you don’t miss any critical device information.

#2. Centralize User Account Management

Many ICS servers and workstations use standard usernames and passwords; administrator capabilities are enabled by default. These systems might have domain controllers, which might impact the integrity of the ICS if they were compromised. Security teams should centralize access, authentication, and account management monitoring, management, and reporting to safeguard and validate user accounts to avoid this from occurring.

It is essential to have a system that keeps track of account modifications and access events and can communicate that data to SIEMs and IAMs. Security teams will save themselves many difficulties if they detect suspicious account activity early.

#3. Automate OT Asset Vulnerability Monitoring

A vulnerability-first strategy is necessary to reduce the window of opportunity for attackers to take advantage of new vulnerabilities. A new tool launched by CISA notifies critical infrastructure institutions of exposed system vulnerabilities and helps them safeguard their information systems against ransomware attacks. Not every vulnerability has an immediate patch available, particularly in ICS setups, and it’s frequently impossible to repair these systems immediately.

For asset owners, passively discovering new vulnerabilities on demand is quite advantageous. A crucial note of caution is that the effectiveness of your vulnerability management solution depends on the quality of your asset inventory; therefore, be sure to start with #1’s suggestion.

#4. Track and Look for Unusual Changes

Ensure you have a baseline of known suitable configurations for each endpoint you’re constantly monitoring for changes to, as a misconfigured device can give an attacker an easy way to get into your ICS. Another attack vector to keep a watch on is removable media, which has become more popular recently.

Employing a network intrusion detection system, also known as passive network monitoring, which uses network protocols to detect anomalies in communication, adds a layer of danger detection. If you have network and endpoint monitoring set up, there are several methods by which you might identify questionable activities. This can serve as a fail-safe strategy, ensuring the other technique will detect any anomalies you might have missed using the first one.

#5. Provide the Correct Data to Empower Security Responders

First and foremost, ensure that your security personnel are actively monitoring ICS event data and possess some degree of familiarity with and training in these contexts. Your SOC teams will benefit from cross-training as they will get insight into the distinctions between the more sophisticated and heterogeneous OT networks that have recently entered the picture and the IT networks they have historically monitored.

Getting the appropriate information to the right people is crucial for ICS security teams. It is undoubtedly difficult to find a solution that is both scalable and specialized enough to work within the larger corporate security ecosystem of OT technologies. Furthermore, you should ensure that API integrations with corporate SIEMs, CMDBs, and ticketing systems allow them to access this data understandably. Lastly, you should always keep a backup of your ICS devices’ known secure configurations somewhere that both the OT operations and IT security teams can access in an emergency.

The Challenges of ICS Security

Five main issues plague industrial control systems, making them susceptible to cyberattacks:

#1. IT/OT Convergence

The convergence of IT and OT is a significant problem for industrial control systems. Traditionally, various teams have been in charge of managing the IT and OT systems independently. The convergence between these two domains has grown as firms depend on networked systems and technology develops. While IT/OT convergence gives businesses better supply chain integration and visibility, This interconnectedness makes it easier for hackers to target weaknesses because it creates a larger attack surface. This is because typical IT security techniques can interfere with vital operations, resulting in production losses or safety risks.

#2. Legacy systems

The prevalence of legacy systems in industrial settings is another significant problem for ICS. Industrial control systems frequently lack the features—such as authentication and encryption—necessary to defend against cyberattacks because they were constructed decades ago with security in mind.

#3. Remote Access

Many industrial control systems don’t have enough access control, making it more straightforward for hackers to access vital systems without authorization. They also have to deal with internal and external users who need remote access to industrial assets for various reasons, like maintenance. Third-party users can be particularly challenging to service because they usually cannot share jump servers or other infrastructure, which may be expensive and complex for administrators. Organizations that lack secure remote access have limited visibility and control over the activities occurring in their environments, which eventually affects safety and uptime. The absence of a centralized monitoring system would also hamper their capacity to identify and address cyber problems.

#4. Patching

Maintenance windows are rare since many industrial environments cannot tolerate downtime. Systems are subject to known assaults that could have been avoided, making them particularly risky.

#5. APT attacks

Advanced persistent threats (APTs) are sophisticated cyberattacks that frequently target industrial control systems. APT actors have created specialized tools to target critical infrastructure systems (ICS). And their attacks are meant to stay hidden for extended periods, potentially causing severe harm to vital infrastructure. It may be challenging to safeguard systems if an effective ICS security plan isn’t in place.

What is an ICS in security?

Ensuring the safety and security of industrial control systems (ICS) is the primary goal of ICS security. This covers the software and hardware the system’s users and operators use.

Why is ICS security important?

This is because it contributes to preserving the physical security of those who utilize and depend on the systems it guards. Protecting your industrial control systems could prevent average citizens from receiving vital services.

What is ICS and OT security?

Industrial operations management computing solutions are called operational technology (OT). Industrial control systems (ICS) constitute a significant segment of the OT sector. The application of intelligent sensors and actuators to improve industrial and manufacturing processes is known as the industrial Internet of Things, or IIoT.

What do security engineers do?

A security engineer’s responsibility is to keep an organization’s security systems operational. This could entail planning and carrying out computer and network updates, testing new security features, troubleshooting, and reacting to security problems.

Conclusion

Acquiring and preserving vital security procedures requires accurate and thorough data. It is highly beneficial to employ automated ways to identify, monitor, and manage each asset, regardless of its linked condition, and to document necessary modifications so that they may obtain a deeper understanding of their environments. The alternative, subject to human mistakes and out-of-date information, would be manual walk-downs and security via spreadsheets.

ICS SECURITY: Definition and All You Need to Know

Table of Contents Hide

What is ICS security?

How ICS Security Works

Common ICS Threats