SECURITY SPOTLIGHT
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OIL AND GAS CYBER-
RISK GROWS AS IT-OT
AIR GAP CLOSES
With Kuwait holding around seven percent of global
oil reserves, the importance and security of the energy
industry cannot be overestimated. However, there are
significant cyber-risks facing oil and gas infrastructures
that represent a lucrative target for cybercriminals.
O
il and gas plants, including those in
Kuwait, have increased their cyber-
risk profile as they modernise plants
and close the ‘air gap’ between IT networks
and operational technology (OT) networks.
This is according to Phil Neray, VP of
Industrial Cybersecurity at global security
specialists CyberX, who notes that many oil
and gas facilities are still using equipment
that is 15 to 20 years old and designed
before industrial cybersecurity was a
primary consideration. In addition, many
oil and gas facilities still run their IT and OT
networks in siloes, with plant engineers –
not cybersecurity experts – responsible for
cybersecurity in the plants.
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INTELLIGENTCIO
However, attacks such as last year’s high-
profile TRITON attack on a petrochemical
facility in Saudi Arabia, where hackers
compromised the plant’s safety devices,
highlight the cyber-risks facing oil and gas
infrastructures in the current climate.
CyberX’s recent 2019 Global ICS & IIoT
Risk Report, which assessed vulnerabilities
across over 850 industrial control networks
around the world, found several common
vulnerabilities: 53% of industrial sites used
outdated Windows systems, 57% were not
running anti-virus that updated signatures
automatically, 69% have passwords
traversing the network in plain-text, and the
‘air gap’ is a myth – as 40% of industrial
“
MANY OIL AND
GAS FACILITIES
ARE STILL USING
EQUIPMENT
THAT IS 15 TO 20
YEARS OLD AND
DESIGNED BEFORE
INDUSTRIAL
CYBERSECURITY
WAS A PRIMARY
CONSIDERATION.
www.intelligentcio.com