Oil and gas companies must focus on building robust industrial cybersecurity programs to prevent and respond to the next attack.
Over the course of the last year, a surge of unprecedented attacks has made industrial cybersecurity top of mind for industrial organizations around the world. This is particularly true in critical infrastructure sectors such as oil and gas.
Previously, cyber criminals concentrated their efforts on infiltrating the information technology (IT) networks that run business systems. However, they are now looking to disrupt the operational technology (OT) networks that control industrial operations. Threat actors have moved beyond stealing valuable data, to gaining control over entire market ecosystems.
The recent Colonial Pipeline incident demonstrates how hackers can wreak havoc when organizations assume IT threats will not impact OT. This ransomware attack was the strategic result of a password breach, which snowballed until OT operations were completely shut down. The consequence was a shortage of gasoline along the East Coast, pushing gas prices to their highest level in six years.
