The industrial sector has undergone a profound digital transformation in the last decade, witnessing significant changes in supply chain management, energy systems, and remote monitoring. The convergence of IT and OT systems, the surge in IoT assets, and the shift to cloud environments have brought about opportunities but also introduced new cybersecurity challenges, straining security teams.
As the industry embraces digital technologies during the fourth industrial revolution, security teams are grappling to keep pace with the rapidly evolving threat landscape. Internal organizational shortcomings, technical deficiencies, and other factors create blind spots, leaving organizations vulnerable to cyber threats. The critical importance of their systems and infrastructure makes them attractive targets for sophisticated attacks.
Recent breaches highlight the growing threat to industrial systems, with consequences ranging from physical harm to production downtime and environmental damage. The manufacturing sector has experienced a staggering 107 percent increase in cyberattacks since 2021, according to Dragos. The attack on Johnson Controls, a major industrial control systems manufacturer, demonstrated the severity of these incidents, impacting U.S. federal agencies due to the company’s contract work.
Such cyberattacks can compromise sensitive information and disrupt supply chains for extended periods. Clorox, for instance, suffered a cyberattack in August 2023, leading to a reported $25 million in response costs and a more than 20 percent drop in quarterly sales.
Visibility is identified as a crucial factor in cybersecurity, allowing organizations to monitor their network and assess the effectiveness of security controls. Traditional manual processes, however, are inefficient and error-prone, resulting in blind spots and delayed response times. Security automation emerges as a solution to bridge these gaps, minimizing the need for manual intervention in threat detection and incident response.
Automation, particularly when powered by low-code capabilities, enables OT security teams to proactively address vulnerabilities and monitor threats. This includes automating tasks such as device quarantine, isolation, tagging, and decoy deployment. A suitable security automation tool seamlessly integrates with existing industrial control systems (ICS) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, enhancing security measures without requiring a complete infrastructure overhaul.
Looking ahead, the cybersecurity skills gap remains a significant challenge, particularly for industries operating in environments that combine OT and IT. Security automation, while not replacing the need for human expertise, can enhance efficiency, cut costs, and allow security leaders to focus on strategic decisions, employee well-being, and overall security posture. Adopting a proactive security approach through automation is positioned as a key strategy for navigating the evolving cybersecurity landscape.