Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Warns of Threats

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CISA has identified potential operational vulnerabilities in Industrial Control Systems (the control systems that manage industrial processes) as a result of increased remote-based ICS management and industry adaptation to working conditions in the COVID-19 pandemic:

• expanded cyber-attack surfaces
• reduced network segmentation and securitization
• unauthorized access (both physical and online)

Operational adaptations to the pandemic (such as remote-work adoption) also increase the risks associated with identifying, authenticating and securing accounts, which are now more necessary than in work environments where physical access allows authentication. Managing cybersecurity risks in an ICS environment requires a blend of skills that has become onerous to maintain while facing pandemic-driven changes. CISA’s report is here.