The impact of the Internet of Things on the security of industrial control systems according to Kaspersky

In the industrial sector, digitization is making great progress.

And this necessarily means taking a fairly objective approach to the situation in the face of the computer threat, which is also progressing.

A recent study by the Russian computer security company Kaspersky clearly addresses the subject. The company's report on the result of the study is entitled "State of Industrial Cybersecurity in the Age of Digitization." The report states that 55% of the organizations approached believe that the Internet of Things will greatly influence the organization of computer security of industrial control systems. 20% of companies have already felt that the priority should be on the Internet of Things side for computer incidents to observe the coming years in the sector.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the industry sector has not slowed its digital transformation. The goal is to reach Industry 4.0 with the deployment of new, much more automated infrastructure. In a recent study, McKinsey and Company demonstrated that the industrial sector in particular manufacturing and supply chain (99%) already planning, the recruitment of professionals with digital skills. Companies that had already begun digital transformation are even more confident since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the study.

In addition, the digital transformation of industries also challenges certain facts. The issue of the Internet of Things. When we talk about the Internet of Things, one of the first references is undoubtedly the issue of computer security especially in a sector as sensitive as that of industries. Kaspersky's study shows that:

– 20% of companies are one in five companies considers cyber-attacks on industrial IoT devices as the main concern. Here the risk and totally understood as inherent in the digitization strategy.

– 15% of these companies are most afraid of data exfiltration;

– another 15%, attacks on the supply chain.

For this reason, all strategies for any digitisation of industrial sectors must be accompanied by computer security specialists. It was observed in 2020 that nearly 44% of businesses directly involve IT security professionals on initiatives to protect Internet devices from things and digital operating technologies.

Unfortunately, the report states that a large part of companies acknowledge that they are not ready to fight potential computer attacks directed specifically at the Internet of Things. In fact, only 19% have deployed enough resources to monitor their computer network and traffic. Only 14% have adopted solutions to detect potential network anomalies. This makes it easy for security teams to track malicious activity when initiated on the network.

"When industrial companies implement connected devices and smart systems, they must ensure that they have the same level of protection requirements. To achieve this, protection must be taken into account at the beginning of a project. IoT devices must be secured in their core to prevent any attempt to attack them. With the protection of traffic and other technologies, the entire network is secure from conception and protected from cyber risks," said Grigory Sizov, head of KasperskyOS' KasperskyOS business unit.

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