ARTICLE

Securing What We Rely On: OT Cybersecurity

Identifying Vulnerabilities in Critical Infrastructure Operations

By Scott Dowell | July 12, 2024

Read Time: 4 Minutes

There is a real urgency to identifying cybersecurity vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure operations today. We cannot stop at identification, nor wait months or years to better harden production operations. Security leaders across critical infrastructure industries like energy, water, transportation, food, and life sciences need concrete advice right now to lessen risks in the near term, while moving toward long-term cybersecurity plans and strategies that will continuously protect the production operations we rely on in the future.

More than 50% of industrial manufacturers have experienced a cybersecurity breach in their facility.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

Why are industrial companies vulnerable to cyberattacks?

Legacy unpatched infrastructure and a lack of skilled resources to properly manage cyber risks make many industrial companies a target. Their adversaries know that these environments have many vulnerabilities and if attacked can mean major consequences for the infected systems.

Why is it difficult to address cyber risks?

Most industrial automation environments are poorly inventoried. You much know what is connected in the environment in order to secure it. Asset inventory, along with continuous risk assessment and gap analysis, is an integral part of OT cybersecurity.

To fully identify your operations’ vulnerabilities, start by asking these questions:

When was the last time I had a network or cybersecurity assessment?
Do I know what my vulnerabilities and risks are on the OT network?
Do I have visibility into my OT network and know all my assets?
How scalable and resilient is my network?
Do I have up-to-date OT network drawings?
Do I have a patch management strategy for my servers?
Do I have a disaster recovery plan?

Wesco is Positioned to Lead You on Your Cybersecurity Journey

Wesco offers a balanced approach to fully assess your IT/OT assets. We leverage our traditional industrial automation expertise along with our team of information technology specialists to help remediate potential performance and security issues.

Technical Expertise

More than 100 sales representatives and 50 automation engineers on staff to provide real-time technical expertise and support for specific application problems, product demos, and training.

Custom Solutions via World-Class Partners

Wesco can deliver custom engineered solutions to meet and exceed your desired business outcomes. We assess your unique requirements and provide resources through a broad industry network of solution delivery partners.

Digital Transformation Expertise

Our digital solutions unlock valuable data from disparate systems, processes, and people, helping you gain real-time insights into your operations. We help you identify your biggest challenges and opportunities, quantify their impact, and define a path forward to make better, faster decisions.

Plant Modernization Experience

Wesco offers services to help you make informed decisions on where to improve and invest. Our expertise and guidance will support you as you make critical business decisions.

Wesco Network Assessments

We provide insight into potential security risks, key network issues, and opportunities for improvement. This is typically conducted by a Wesco IoT network engineer. We will provide a gap analysis and insights on network health, security risks, key network issues, and make recommendations such as assessments or surveys. Wesco network assessments include an overview of the following areas:

Network Infrastructure

Cable inspection
Cable selection
Enclosures
Grounding
IP schema and segmentation
Network monitoring
Physical and local topology
Power redundancy
Server hardware nvironmental conditions
Switch selection

Cybersecurity

Asset inventory
Awareness and training
Backup and recovery
Industrial demilitarized zone (DMZ) and segmentation
Patch management
Physical security
Remote access
Risk assessment and management
Security controls
Server OS and application version
Vulnerability discovery

As cyberattacks become increasingly sophisticated, having a trusted partner to navigate risks and vulnerabilities is key. Wesco can help you identify your largest cybersecurity gaps and recommend solutions to harden your critical infrastructure.

Visit Wesco.com/plant-maintenance to schedule your network health check today.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Scott Dowell, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Industrial and CIG
In his current role, Scott is responsible for leading the strategy, execution, and growth of Wesco’s industrial, automation, institutional, and government end users across the U.S. Since joining the company in 2007, he has held multiple sales and leadership roles, most recently leading Global Accounts for legacy Wesco before the acquisition of Anixter.