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The Critical Convergence of IT and OT Security in a Global Crisis report is based on a global, independent survey of 1,100 full-time IT and OT security professionals who own, operate, or otherwise support critical infrastructure components within large enterprises across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, examining how their concerns, attitudes, and experiences have changed since the pandemic began in March.

Responses from 200 UK-based IT and OT security professionals reveal:
? Almost a third (32%) said their organisation’s OT environment is not properly safeguarded from potential threats
? One-fifth of organisations did not make cyber security a priority during the pandemic
? COVID-19 has not only accelerated the adoption of new technologies (41% stated implementing new technology solutions as a priority during the pandemic), but also brought to the fore the challenges of having siloed teams (56% said collaboration between IT and OT teams has become more challenging)
? 83% believe that, from a cyber security perspective, their organisation is prepared should another major disruption occur

Across the globe, COVID-19 has led cyber criminals to use new tactics and organisations to become more vulnerable to cyber attacks, with 56% of global respondents saying that their organisation has experienced more cyber security threats since the pandemic began. Further, almost three-fourths (72%) reported that their jobs have become more challenging.

COVID-19 has clearly had an impact on IT/OT convergence, as two-thirds (67%) say that their IT and OT networks have become more interconnected since the pandemic began and more than 75% expect they will become even more interconnected as a result of it. While IT/OT convergence unlocks business value in terms of operations efficiency, performance, and quality of services, it can also be detrimental because threats – both targeted and non-targeted – can move freely between IT and OT environments.

“While we would be short-sighted to think that we won’t have more challenges as we continue to face unknowns from this pandemic, protecting critical infrastructure is especially important in a time of crisis,” said Yaniv Vardi, CEO of Claroty. “As large enterprises are trying to improve their productivity by connecting more OT and IoT devices and remotely accessing their industrial networks, they are also increasing their exposure as a result. OT security needs to be brought to the fore and made a priority for all organisations. Attackers know that IT networks are covered with cyber security solutions so they’re moving to exploit vulnerabilities in OT to gain access to enterprise networks. Not protecting OT is like protecting a house with state-of-the-art security and alarm systems, but then leaving the front door open.”

In terms of industries, globally the respondents ranked pharmaceutical, oil & gas, electric utilities, manufacturing, and building management systems as the top five most vulnerable to attack. Most regions followed similar patterns, identifying three to five industries clustered closely toward the top of the list. The exceptions are the DACH region, where oil & gas clearly holds the top spot at 36%, and Singapore, where pharmaceutical is at 22%.

Claroty improves the availability, safety, and reliability of OT assets and networks within industrial enterprises and critical infrastructure.?The Claroty Platform provides comprehensive OT asset and network visibility, segmentation, vulnerability management, threat detection, risk assessment, and Secure Remote Access (SRA) capabilities — all within a single, agentless solution. Unique to Claroty, SRA provides a single, secure, and clientless interface through which all external users connect prior to performing software upgrades, periodic maintenance, and other support activities on assets within OT networks. This is all enriched by the company’s award-winning OT security research department.