Hacking Operational Technology for Defense: Lessons Learned From OT Red Teaming Smart Meter Control Infrastructure

High-profile security incidents in the past decade have brought increased scrutiny to cyber security for operational technology OT. However, there is a continued perception across critical infrastructure organizations that OT networks are isolated from public networks—such as the Internet. In...

Vulnerability Spotlight: Two vulnerabilities in Advantech WebAccess/SCADA

Yuri Kramarz of Cisco Talos discovered this vulnerability. Blog by Jon Munshaw. Cisco Talos recently discovered two vulnerabilities in the Advantech WebAccess/SCADA software package. An adversary could exploit each of these vulnerabilities to disclose sensitive information and elevate their...

WestRock Ransomware Attack Hinders Packaging Production

WestRock – the second-largest packaging company in the U.S. – continues to restore its systems, two weeks after it discovered it was the victim of a ransomware attack. WestRock, which has more than 320 manufacturing facilities globally, creates packaging supplies for a bevy of high-profile client...

Addressing the OT-IT Risk and Asset Inventory Gap

Cyber-espionage and exploitation from nation-state-sanctioned actors have only become more prevalent in recent years, with recent examples including the SolarWinds attack, which was attributed to nation-state actors with alleged Russian ties. There are suspicions that sensitive information has be...

Talos Takes Ep. #39: SolarWinds' implications for IoT and OT

The latest episode of Talos Takes is available now. Download this episode and subscribe to Talos Takes using the buttons below, or visit the Talos Takes page. This week, we're continuing our deep dive into the SolarWinds campaign. After Nick Biasini gave us a broad overview of supply chain attack...

Announcing the general availability of Azure Defender for IoT

As businesses increasingly rely on connected devices to optimize their operations, the number of IoT and Operational Technology OT endpoints is growing dramatically—industry analysts have estimated that CISOs will soon be responsible for an attack surface multiple times larger than just a few yea...

Millions of Unpatched IoT, OT Devices Threaten Critical Infrastructure

Thousands of organizations remain at risk from the URGENT/11 and CDPwn collections of vulnerabilities, which affect operational technology OT gear and internet of things IoT, respectively. Unfortunately, there has been a rampant lack of patching, researchers said. According to researchers at Armi...

AMNESIA:33. (BSA-2020-1167)

Security Advisory ID: BSA-2020-1167 Component: Open source TCP/IP stacks. Revision: 1.1 Forescout Research Labs discovered 33 vulnerabilities impacting millions of IoT, OT, and IT devices that present an immediate risk for organizations worldwide.These vulnerabilities are named AMNESIA:33. Detail...

Amnesia:33

Amnesia:33 is a group of 33 vulnerabilities in open-source TCP/IP stack libraries. The vulnerabilities may be present in a wide range of operational technology, IoT, and connected device implementations. Recent assessments: ccondon-r7 at December 08, 2020 9:05pm UTC reported: Sorta relying here o...

NSA and CISA Recommend Immediate Actions to Reduce Exposure Across Operational Technologies and Control Systems

Summary Note: This Activity Alert uses the MITRE Adversarial Tactics, Techniques, and Common Knowledge ATT&CK® framework. See the ATT&CK for Enterprise and ATT&CK for Industrial Control Systems frameworks for all referenced threat actor techniques and mitigations. Over recent months, cyber actors...

Addressing cybersecurity risk in industrial IoT and OT

As the industrial Internet of Things IIoT and operational technology OT continue to evolve and grow, so too, do the responsibilities of the Chief Information Security Officer CISO. The CISO now needs to mitigate risks from cloud-connected machinery, warehouse systems, and smart devices scattered...

A Hands-On Introduction to Mandiant's Approach to OT Red Teaming

Operational technology OT asset owners have historically considered red teaming of OT and industrial control system ICS networks to be too risky due to the potential for disruptions or adverse impact to production systems. While this mindset has remained largely unchanged for years, Mandiant's...

Podcast: Learning to ‘Speak the Language’ of OT Security Teams

Andrew Ginter, VP Industrial Security at Waterfall Security Solutions. Information technology IT and operational technology OT may have many of the same objectives – but too often they don’t see eye-to-eye when it comes to top priorities, said Andrew Ginter, VP Industrial Security at Waterfall...

Industrial VPN Flaws Could Let Attackers Target Critical Infrastructures

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered critical vulnerabilities in industrial VPN implementations primarily used to provide remote access to operational technology OT networks that could allow hackers to overwrite data, execute malicious code, and compromise industrial control systems ICS. A n...

Unique Threats to Operational Technology and Cyber Physical Systems

In this latest episode of our Eye on Security podcast, I talk all about the world of operational technology OT and cyber physical systems with one of our foremost experts on the topic: Nathan Brubaker, Senior Manager of Analysis for Mandiant Threat Intelligence. Nathan kicked off our chat by...

Financially Motivated Actors Are Expanding Access Into OT: Analysis of Kill Lists That Include OT Processes Used With Seven Malware Families

Mandiant Threat Intelligence has researched and written extensively on the increasing financially motivated threat activity directly impacting operational technology OT networks. Some of this research is available in our previous blog posts on industrial post-compromise ransomware and FireEye's...

Microsoft acquires CyberX to accelerate and secure customers’ IoT deployments

Today, we’re excited to announce that Microsoft has acquired CyberX, a comprehensive, network-based IoT security platform with continuous threat monitoring and sophisticated analytics that addresses IoT security in a holistic way across the enterprise. CyberX will complement the existing Azure Io...

CISA, DOE, and UK’s NCSC Issue Guidance on Protecting Industrial Control Systems

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA, the Department of Energy DOE, and the UK's National Cyber Security Centre NCSC have released Cybersecurity Best Practices for Industrial Control Systems, an infographic providing recommended cybersecurity practices for industrial control...

Defending the power grid against supply chain attacks: Part 3 – Risk management strategies for the utilities industry

Over the last fifteen years, attacks against critical infrastructure figure1 have steadily increased in both volume and sophistication. Because of the strategic importance of this industry to national security and economic stability, these organizations are targeted by sophisticated, patient, and...

RSAC 2020: Ransomware a 'National Crisis,' CISA Says, Ramps ICS Focus

Industrial control systems ICS and critical infrastructure will be a main focus for the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA this year – especially as ransomware looms as a main threat to the sector going forward. That’s according to Christopher...