Essential Cybersecurity Tips for Industrial Process Control Systems

Securing these systems against cyber threats is one of the top priorities for plant operators. Securing ICS requires urgent attention. It also needs ongoing vigilance from plant managers, engineers, and IT staff because high-profile attacks like Stuxnet and TRITON showed that ICS are vulnerable to skilled hackers. 

A successful ICS intrusion can have severe consequences. It can cause physical damage, environmental releases, injuries, and even loss of life. This is not fear mongering but the cold, hard truth in today's interconnected world. Complacency is not an option, as threats continue to rapidly evolve. Operators can get ahead by taking proactive steps. They should evaluate risks, strengthen systems, and add layered security. 

There is no quick fix or single solution when it comes to ICS security. It requires assessing your specific risks. You need to make improvements in people, processes, and technology. You also need trusted partners to check and strengthen your security over time. Leadership must commit and focus. Operators can then manage cyber risks and protect their most critical digital assets. This blog post aims to help plant operators and facility managers. It provides expert guidance on ICS cybersecurity priorities and gives practical ways to start reducing risks today. The best practices let you take control of your security fate so you can avoid becoming the next big cyber incident headline.

ICS face serious cyber threats. They can disrupt operations, damage equipment, and endanger safety. Major ICS cybersecurity incidents over the past decade demonstrate the potential impacts. 

• The Stuxnet worm targeted Iranian nuclear facilities in 2010. It caused centrifuges to spin out of control and sabotaged uranium enrichment. The malware showed that ICS could be attacked digitally. It could be attacked even when air-gapped from other networks.
• In 2015 and 2016, hackers caused widespread blackouts in Ukraine. They did this by compromising electric utility ICS and crashing substation breakers. Over 200,000 people lost power.
• The TRITON malware attacked a Saudi petrochemical plant in 2017, disabling safety systems. This demonstrated that even safety-critical ICS could be infiltrated and disrupted.
• The 2021 Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack led to fuel shortages. They hit the eastern U.S. for nearly a week. While business systems were impacted, the control systems could have been compromised too.

These and many other incidents reveal that ICS face serious cyber threats. These threats can stop work, they can damage assets, endanger employees, harm the environment, and disrupt infrastructure. Plant operators must make ICS security a top priority.

Hardening your industrial control and safety systems is a critical step in reducing cybersecurity risks. This involves setting up systems and devices to cut vulnerabilities. Attackers could exploit them. 

Some key system hardening best practices include:

• Keep operating systems and software up-to-date with the latest patches. Unfixed vulnerabilities are a main way attackers get into systems. Have a patch management process. It should find and install relevant patches promptly. Prioritize critical patches for your ICS.
• Disable or remove any unnecessary services and protocols. More open services and ports mean more paths for attackers. Document what services are required for your ICS operations and disable all others.
• Review default accounts and passwords. Change all default credentials to prevent attackers from easily guessing their way in. Enforce strong password policies across the ICS environment.
• Restrict and monitor administrative and remote access. Limit admin rights to only those who need them. Use multi-factor authentication where possible. Audit remote access logs to detect unusual activity.  
• Harden network devices. Confirm that networking devices, like switches and firewalls, are securely configured. They protect the ICS zones. Disable unused switch ports.
• Set user account permissions to minimum required. Follow the principle of least privilege. Users should only have access to the specific systems and data they need for their role.

Hardening takes time but it greatly improves an ICS's security against cyber threats. Partnering with experts like us can help. We can help develop a risk-based hardening plan. 

Network segmentation is a crucial security control for protecting industrial control systems. Divide the network into zones. Limit communication between them. That way, companies can contain attacks and limit the impact of threats. 

There are two main ways to segment ICS networks:

• VLANs: Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) allow you to logically divide a physical network into separate broadcast domains. Devices in one VLAN cannot talk to devices in another. They must go through a router. 
  • VLANs enable companies to separate crucial systems like controllers from general IT networks. This prevents threats from propagating between zones.
  • Proper VLAN configuration is essential. Misconfigured VLANs that allow unwanted communication paths can undermine segmentation.
• Firewalls: Installing firewalls between network zones provides access control and monitoring. Firewalls can allow only necessary traffic while blocking everything else. 
  • For example, a firewall can sit between the control system network and the company network. Rules can restrict communication to specific systems or services.
  • Firewalls must be tuned properly. They must be tuned to the application protocols and traffic patterns in the ICS environment. Otherwise availability may suffer.

As a result, you can achieve effective network segmentation for ICS security. You can do this with a defense-in-depth approach using both VLANs and firewalls.

Access controls are critical for securing industrial control systems. These controls allow organizations to manage who can access the system. They also control what those people can do within it. 

Proper access controls involve several key elements:

• Authentication: Authentication verifies the identity of users trying to access the system. It ensures only authorized individuals can log in. Common authentication methods include passwords, multi-factor authentication (MFA), smart cards, and biometrics. MFA provides extra security. It requires users to present two or more credentials to gain access.
• Authorization: Once a user is authenticated, authorization controls what they can access and the actions they can perform. This is managed through user accounts and role-based access controls. Accounts should have the least privilege. This means users get only the permissions they need to do their duties. 
• Account Management: Managing user accounts is critical to maintain security. Accounts should be promptly deactivated when employees leave the organization. Password policies need to be enforced, requiring strong passwords that expire regularly. You should also review accounts periodically. This is to remove stale accounts and make sure privileges match current roles. 

Proper access controls reduce the risk of both external and internal threats. You need to have strong policies for authentication, authorization, and account management. They are crucial for protecting industrial control systems.

Proactive security monitoring is key. It helps find and respond to cybersecurity incidents in industry. This involves using controls. They include intrusion detection systems (IDS), security information and event management (SIEM) solutions, and centralized log management.

• Intrusion detection systems (IDS) monitor networks and systems for malicious activity. They use predefined rules to detect anomalies and known attack patterns. Deploying IDS sensors at key network junctures provides visibility into threats targeting ICS.
• Log monitoring entails aggregating logs from all ICS components into a central repository. Security teams can then analyze the logs. They do this to detect anomalies, policy violations, or attack signs. Effective log monitoring depends on normalizing and correlating data from diverse systems.
• SIEM solutions combine capabilities like log management, anomaly detection, and analytics. This gives one view for monitoring threats in IT and ICS. SIEM tools can analyze logs and events automatically. They detect IOCs and make alerts.
• Regular log reviews, threat hunting exercises, and tuning IDS rules to your environment enhances monitoring capabilities. Prioritizing high-risk assets for more extensive monitoring maximizes limited resources.

Effective monitoring provides situational awareness into ICS threats and enables rapid incident response. An option for organizations lacking security expertise is to partner with a managed security services provider.

Having a full incident response plan before an incident is critical. It helps us contain threats and limit damage fast. This includes making an incident response team. They must have clear roles and duties. Also, they must do regular incident response training and simulations.  

Key elements of an effective ICS incident response plan include:

• Defined procedures for detecting, reporting, and assessing ICS incidents and vulnerabilities. This includes monitoring systems for signs of compromise or abnormal behavior.
• An established incident response team that can rapidly respond in the event of a cyber incident. Team roles like incident commander, communications lead, and technical leads should be pre-assigned.  
• Clear escalation protocols for reporting ICS incidents to organizational leadership and external parties like law enforcement when appropriate.
• Playbooks, decision trees, and other response procedures tailored to your ICS environment and potential incident scenarios. For example, steps to isolate or recover compromised systems.
• Regular training for the incident response team to practice executing the plan and work effectively as a team during high-stress incidents. Conduct simulations and tabletop exercises to validate the plan.
• Integrating the ICS-focused incident response plan with the organization's broader IT security incident response plan and processes. 
• Protocols for collecting forensic evidence and maintaining a chain of custody without impacting ICS operations.
• Communications and public relations plans for notifying internal and external stakeholders if an incident affects ICS availability or the products/services they enable.

With good prep and planning, organizations can swiftly create an effective response. We recommend partnering with ICS cybersecurity experts. They can help you develop and test a strong incident response plan.

When it comes to securing industrial control systems, partnering with industrial cybersecurity experts is very valuable. Trying to add security measures on your own, without proper guidance, can lead to gaps. These gaps leave your organization exposed.  

That's where working with companies like Proconex makes sense. We have the expertise to audit your systems. We can also assess them. Then, we give advice tailored to your risks and environment. 

• Proconex professionals can evaluate areas such as:
  • Network segmentation and security 
  • System and device hardening
  • Access controls and account management
  • Security monitoring capabilities  
  • Incident response preparedness
  • Physical security
  • Policy and procedure gaps

Our findings will show you where your security is strong. We will also show where it needs improvement. Proconex can then help you add Emerson's cybersecurity measures. These will address any vulnerabilities found in the audit.

The benefit of partnering with experts is gaining peace of mind. At Proconex, we can manage your cyber risk without causing disruptions.