As digitalization becomes more common and remote operations become necessary, guarding against cybersecurity breaches grows even more critical
The hacking of a Florida water plant, which made headlines in February, was a poignant reminder of the dangers posed by breaches of cybersecurity. Although the incident was discovered before real harm could occur, it highlights the importance of due vigilance when it comes to the security of IT (information technology) and OT (operational technology) of plants in the chemical process industries (CPI).
Threats are always there
“The [CPI] face increasing and more sophisticated cybersecurity threats,” says Michael Lester, director of cybersecurity strategy, governance and architecture at Emerson (St. Louis, Mo.; www.emerson.com). “Attacks are constantly evolving, as commoditized malware and advanced technologies provide new capabilities to threat actors. The motivation is still mostly financial gain, but nation state actors are increasingly involved and there are increasing numbers of attacks targeting the industrial control space from various threat actors,” he says.
“Smaller chemical facilities often have older…
