04/06/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/06/2021 10:15
Industry Perspectives
The cyber physical world around us is becoming more digitized and as a result, organizations have been forced to adopt new operational processes to stay afloat. From web-enabled sensors that collect data to the use of cloud-based applications, the execution of innovative strategies are shifting the way business is accomplished across industries, including operational technology (OT) environments. The increased transformation attention and appetite for more data is only expected to grow, as will the volume of relevant and timely actionable intelligence. All of this leads to an increased need for meaningful automated awareness that can address the scale of potential threats associated with the rise in connected cloud security environments within OT.
The speed of technology driven innovation is arguably faster than ever, which makes it difficult to continuously enforce security controls. When executing solution strategy to secure OT cloud environments, security teams must be able to address the following challenges:
Proactively protecting ICS is a crucial aspect of successfully mitigating risk as part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Amid the digitization of operations, organizations must be able to protect data as it moves back and forth between OT and IT infrastructures. Firstly, this requires organizations to weave security into their initial plans as they build out their new hybrid infrastructures. Best practices for managing OT and cybersecurity by design should include:
In addition, securing the business edge requires an adaptive approach to cloud security that spans across on-premise, multi-cloud, and hybrid infrastructures. As part of this, organizations can take a four-pillar approach to their adaptive cloud security strategy to yield continuous earned trust:
Like any infrastructure expansion, the benefits of moving OT to the cloud can outweigh the risks. At the same time, however, organizations must implement a robust security strategy to mitigate these potential risks. One example of this is leveraging automation to improve processes, enhance analytic accuracy, and reduce errors. To secure these IT/OT interconnected layers, organizations must view them as systems within systems, with the whole more complex than the sum of its parts. Vigilance across the OT architecture must extend from the plant floor all the way up through to the cloud. Foundationally, visibility remains a primary problem to address as organizations move toward a digitally transformed IT/OT environment.
These transformational challenges associated with migrating to the cloud can be addressed with the adoption of Fortinet's Security Fabric. This ecosystem delivers on cyber best practices, managing the detection of suspicious activities and putting into play a containment and mitigation strategy to ensure safe and continuous operations. The Security Fabric enables organizations to build security by design with the broadest set of offerings to maintain the same level of security across their IT and OT network environments. The centralized management system enables OT businesses to configure, manage, and monitor all components, to eliminate silos and provide greater visibility. The integrated security architecture minimizes threat detection and response times while also enabling users to coordinate automated incident response for enhanced threat remediation across the extended network.
All of these security solution components work together to ensure safe, sustained operations - a concept that is top of mind across OT and embodies the ICS infrastructure upon which they are built. By identifying and adopting services that provide sustained situational awareness, OT leaders can achieve a sense of omnipresence to protect the transactions of their new cloud businesses.
Learn how Fortinet can help you extend security and maintain compliance in any ICS/SCADA-connected environment.
Learn how Fortinet's adaptive cloud security solutions provide increased visibility and control across cloud infrastructures, enabling secure applications and connectivity from data center to cloud.