Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/877922
Top Tips for… cyber security The threat of Cybercrime to the water industry, just as with all other major sectors within the UK economy, is increasing at alarming rates. The good news is that there are ways to protect against being successfully attacked, as Mark Cleary of the TES Cybersafe division explains. The Knowledge: cyber security 1 Embrace Connectivity Contrary to previous belief in the water industry, where the security of industrial control systems (ICS) relied heavily on physically separate, or 'air gapped' networks, it is now commonly accepted that a connected network has more advantages than disadvantages. It quite simply is not enough to rely on company policy to enforce an air gapped system, and the resources required to adequately police the air gap could be better used embracing connectivity, which is much more easily monitored and offers greater benefits. With the large geographical spread of a typical water network, being able to manage network security centrally not only saves money, but crucially, allows reaction times to be drastically improved. With a mix of different departments, site operators and sub-contractors requiring connectivity on multiple sites, monitoring all network activity is a mammoth task. The good news is that there are solutions available to help you detect and identify suspicious activity early, create secure links between sites and stop attacks in their infancy before any damage is caused. 2 Go Phishing The use of phishing campaigns to gain network access or spread malware is growing; a recent study estimated that approximately 91% of successful data breaches are started with a spear-phishing attack (where hackers send an e-mail appearing to be from a trusted source). Whilst the industry may not always be the intended target, it is possible that ransomware campaigns could bring down some ICS systems. It is vital that staff are trained how to spot a phishing 5 TOP TIPS www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | oCTobEr 2017 | 35 Mark Cleary, IT Manager, TES Cybersafe