EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The Operational Technology (OT) sector is uniquely vulnerable to cyber attacks due to the fact that nearly all OT enterprises depend on IT. Within the past two years, nearly 90% of OT organizations experienced at least one crippling cyber attack, with 62% of organizations experiencing a higher volume of attacks. It’s time to get into position and to put the best defenses in place.

A recently released report by The Poneman Institute shows that 50% of OT companies have experienced cyber attacks resulting in significant downtime. The probability of experiencing downtime –and subsequent profit loss- is frequently used as a metric for benchmarking security risk, and represents an ongoing concern for 2019. A company manufacturing semiconductors noted that, when hit by the Wannacry virus, downtime resulted in a 3% loss of quarterly earnings.

OT organizations are also apprehensive about the potential for third parties to punch holes in security architecture through the misuse or improper storage of data. Sixty five percent of companies state that third party lapses represent one of their top security woes, and it is projected to be the single biggest threat to OT companies in the remainder of the year ahead.

Frequent and timely communications with C-level executives is critical in successfully managing cyber security threats. Nearly three quarters of OT orgs report that they would like to expand dialogue with the C-suite. Other governance priorities include developing plans to help secure third parties, increasing employee education surrounding cyber safety, delegating more resources to cyber initiatives, and dedicating more full-time employees to cyber threat management.

Get the full story via The Poneman Institute’s report.