Cyber attacks on critical infrastructure present substantial risks to everyday life, with potential catastrophic consequences. Attacks on vital sectors like power, water, and supply chain can lead to financial ruin, operational disruption, and even fatalities. Many operational technology (OT) systems are inadequately protected, often exposed to the internet without proper authentication. The difficulty in identifying threat actors during reconnaissance phases complicates defense strategies. Addressing vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure is essential to safeguard the systems that society relies on most.
We're used to hearing about attacks against a server, maybe it's a mail server, could be a firewall, something in the periphery that is exposed to the internet. But unfortunately, the cyber hygiene around a lot of OT systems is so poor that there is actually exposure to the direct Internet with a service that would actually allow manipulation of those processes within an OT environment, often not even requiring any form of authentication, never mind the requirement to exploit that software that's running.
When you're looking at endpoints of a network where four or five different groups be egressing from, it's not always easy to categorize which group is it that's interested in which target, or at what point in their larger operational plan are they. Is this reconnaissance we're seeing? Are they scanning external infrastructure to look for vulnerabilities?
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