Fortinet has completed and published the fifth edition of our 2023 State of Operational Technology and Cybersecurity report. This annual study provides data and results based on a worldwide survey of 570 operational technology (OT) professionals conducted by third-party research firm InMoment .
The convergence of OT and IT networking is accelerating as organizations can use the data collected by physical equipment and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices to identify issues and increase efficiency. Additionally, this convergence results in reduced space requirements, less physical hardware, shorter deployment times, greater cost savings, higher performance, and less isolated IT and OT departments.
However, with the convergence of IT/OT, ever-evolving and destructive cyber threats can hit previously bare OT environments and prevent many organizations from fully benefiting from this integration. Consequently, organizations around the world consider OT cybersecurity more vital than ever.
Main conclusions of 2023
The recently released Fortinet report provides a comprehensive overview of the current OT and cybersecurity landscape. It reveals an encouraging trend: OT organizations have significantly improved their cybersecurity posture. However, the report also shows the need for further improvements.
Key findings from the global survey include:
. OT continues to be targeted by cybercriminals at a high rate. While the number of organizations that have not incurred a cybersecurity breach has improved dramatically year-over-year (from 6% in 2022 to 25% in 2023), there is still significant room for improvement. In fact, three-quarters of OT organizations reported at least one hack in the past year. Malware intrusions (56%) and phishing (49%) were again the most common type of incident reported, with nearly a third of respondents reporting falling victim to a ransomware attack in the past year (32%, unchanged from 2022 ) .
. Cybersecurity professionals overestimated their OT security maturity. In 2023, the number of respondents who consider their organization's OT security posture to be "highly mature" has dropped to 13% from 21% in the previous year, suggesting a growing awareness among OT professionals and more effective tools to self-assess. their organizations' cybersecurity capabilities. Respondents also indicated that when a cyber-attack has occurred, nearly a third (32%) of respondents indicated that IT and OT systems were affected – up from just 21% last year.
OT security posture maturity
The explosive growth in connected devices underscores the complexity challenges for OT organizations. Nearly 80% of respondents reported having more than 100 IP-enabled OT devices in their OT environment, highlighting how significant the challenge is for security teams to protect an ever-expanding threat landscape. Survey results revealed that cybersecurity solutions continue to help the majority (76%) of OT professionals succeed, most notably by improving efficiency (67%) and flexibility (68%). However, the report's data also indicate that the dispersion of solutions makes it more difficult to incorporate, deploy and enforce policies consistently in an increasingly convergent IT/OT landscape. Older systems compound the problem, with the majority (74%) of organizations reporting that the average age of ICS systems across the organization is between six and 10 years.
How Cybersecurity Solutions Help Success (Top 3)
OT security alignment under the CISO
While nearly all organizations face an uphill battle when it comes to finding qualified security professionals due to the growing shortage of cybersecurity skills, the report's results suggest that OT organizations continue to prioritize cybersecurity. One leading indicator is that nearly all organizations (95%) plan to place responsibility for OT cybersecurity under a chief information security officer (CISO) within the next 12 months, rather than an executive or operations team. The findings also reveal that OT cybersecurity professionals now come from IT security leadership rather than product management. Influence on cybersecurity decisions is shifting from operations to other leaders, especially CISO/CSO roles. Cybersecurity will be under the control of the CISO for the next 12 months.
global trends
A detailed analysis of the 2023 report data reveals that there are some prominent global trends:
There may have been a general decline in intrusions due to fewer insider breaches, but ransomware and phishing are still big threats. And cybercriminals seem to be taking a more targeted approach.
Almost all organizations have placed responsibility for OT cybersecurity under a CISO rather than an executive or operations team.
Cybersecurity point products and solution expansion can make it more challenging to enforce policies, and consistently, across the converged IT/OT landscape.
OT professionals now appear to have a more realistic self-assessment of their organization's OT cybersecurity defenses.
After five years of researching OT professionals, this year's report brings the positive news that OT cybersecurity is now gaining the attention of corporate leadership teams and C-suites. But CISOs and their organizations still have a lot to do when it comes to cybersecurity.
best practices
Organizations can continue to improve the protection of their IT and OT networks by adopting these best practices outlined in this year's Fortinet State of OT and Cybersecurity 2023 Report:
Develop an OT and vendor cybersecurity platform strategy
Consolidation reduces complexity and accelerates results. The first step is to start building a platform over time by partnering with vendors who design their products with integration and automation in mind to enable organizations to embed and consistently enforce policy in an increasingly convergent IT/OT landscape. Look to engage with vendors with a broad portfolio of solutions that can provide both basic inventory and asset segmentation solutions and more advanced solutions such as an OT SOC or the ability to support a joint IT/OT SOC.
Deploy network access control (NAC) technology
Solving the challenges associated with securing ICS, SCADA, IoT, BYOD and other endpoints requires that advanced network access control be part of a comprehensive security architecture. An effective NAC solution also helps maintain complete control of an organization's network, managing new devices that want to connect or communicate with other parts of the organization's infrastructure.
Employ a zero trust access approach
Implement basic asset inventory and segmentation steps and provide continuous verification of all users, applications and devices seeking access to critical assets.
Incorporate cybersecurity awareness education and training
Cybersecurity training remains critical because the cybersecurity battle will require the collective empowerment of all employees so that they have the knowledge and awareness to work together to protect themselves and their organization's data. Organizations should consider including non-technical training targeted at anyone using a computer or mobile device, from telecommuters to their families.
Download the report and see all the intelligence it has to offer. You're sure to learn a lot about the current state of OT, the ongoing convergence of IT and OT networks, and how best to secure them going forward.
Learn more about how Fortinet secures OT environments in critical infrastructure sectors such as energy, defense, manufacturing, food, and transportation, engineering security into complex infrastructure through the Fortinet Security Fabric.