One of the most notorious ransomware incidents in history happened in May 2021, when malicious hackers held the Colonial Pipeline hostage, causing gas shortages and widespread panic. The high-profile incident underscored the vulnerability of U.S. critical infrastructure and operational technology (OT) to cyberattacks.
Today, OT — which we rely on for water, transportation, food, electricity and more — faces escalating threats. According to recent research from Fortinet, 82% of organizations saw intrusions affect their OT systems in the past year, an increase from 73% in 2024 and 49% in 2023.
This week’s featured articles explore the global financial stakes of OT security, vulnerabilities opening critical infrastructure to attack and new guidance from the federal government for securing OT assets.
OT cyber threats put more than $300B at risk annually
Catastrophic cybersecurity events involving OT have the potential to cost nearly $330 billion in a single year, according to a new report by security vendor Dragos and risk services firm Marsh McLennan, with business interruption accounting for $172 billion of those losses. The researchers said there is a .4% likelihood…
