The automotive world has always been one of the most cutting-edge sectors in terms of the technology used, which is why today's cars are equipped with technologies such as Bluetooth, NFC, GPS, etc., which improve different aspects such as comfort, fuel efficiency and increased safety.
But these implemented technologies can also bring with them serious problems, such as the risk of cyber-attacks that can affect passengers in the vehicle, both at the level of personal data and physical security.
For this reason, this article aims to provide an insight into some of the cyber-attacks that smart cars have suffered and how cyber-security is evolving and adapting to make more and more vehicles cyber-safe.
The industrial environment, especially the energy sector, is one of sectors that is suffering the most from cyber-attacks. This trend has been increasing in recent years, as this is one of the most information-sensitive sectors and can cause major problems, both economically and socially.
One of the best examples of malware attacks is BlackEnergy. This malware became known for being able to compromise several electricity distributors on 23 December 2015, causing households in the Ivano-Frankvisk region of Ukraine (a population of around 1.5 million) to be without electricity.
For this reason, due to seriousness of this type of cyberattacks, it is necessary to continue researching and investing in industrial cybersecurity, to reduce the damage caused by this type of cyber-attack in industrial environments.
IoT networks are very useful for everyday life, but their use is not limited only to this type of environment; there are industrial environments where this type of networks can benefit connectivity between industrial devices and provide capabilities that other types of networks could not. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project or 3GPP developed the NB-IoT protocol, a protocol for when networks with higher performance, higher speed and high interconnectivity capacity between devices are required. This protocol can work both in IoT devices and in IoT devices in the industrial environment (IIoT).
In the industrial world, there are a large number of systems, equipment, networks, areas, ducts, cloud environments, IT-OT environments, etc. In recent years, the number of attacks on industrial environments has been growing exponentially, and not only on purely industrial environments, but also on corporate environments that are connected to industrial environments. These IT environments being access points for attackers due to this IT/OT connectivity.
The security gaps and issues that exist within industrial environments are sometimes unknown to many information consumers. This article aims to bring first hand some of the most interesting issues and attack trends in 2023 in the industrial sector. Different industrial cybersecurity incidents so far this year will be described at a high level and a comparison will be made with the trend presented at the beginning of the year.
OSINT (Open-Source Intelligence) is a technique that focuses on the collection, evaluation and analysis of public information through different methods and techniques, with the objective of discovering vulnerabilities or collecting sensitive information that could become threats.
It should be emphasized that the data collection is not called OSINT, it would be raw information. Once this information is evaluated and treated, it could be said that we are really talking about open-source intelligence (OSINT).
Initially it has been used in the military and government sector. Its use in OT, with disciplines such as SIGINT (Signals Intelligence), IMINT (Imagery Intelligence) or even 'Sock Puppets' (fake profiles or intruders in technical forums) is making havoc due to the criticality of this equipment. Disinformation or the compilation of sensitive industrial technical information are some of the serious consequences that this sector is exposed to.
When a security incident occurs in an ICS (Industrial Control System), depending on the severity of the incident, it can generate a serious problem, both at a productive and economic level, as well as in the security of the people working in the industrial system.
Therefore, in this article following the one entitled "Good practices for the recovery of industrial systems (I)", response plans will be discussed from a point of view oriented to current regulations, as well as their applications and necessity in critical industrial environments, such as the energy sector.
When a security incident occurs in an ICS (Industrial Control System), depending on its severity, it can generate a serious problem, both at a productive and economic level, as well as in the security of the people working in the industrial system.
Therefore, in this first article of a series on this subject, we will explain precisely the recovery plans, some general guidelines for their development and some conclusions on the use and applicability of these plans.
