Escalating cybersecurity threats and attacks have led to risk assessment emerging as a critical safety technique used by professionals to analyze processes or systems for potential risks that could lead to hazardous conditions impacting humans, machines, and materials. In industrial cybersecurity contexts, risk assessment plays a pivotal role in identifying, evaluating, and mitigating potential threats that could compromise the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT).
Given that sectors such as manufacturing, energy, and transportation are increasingly interconnected, they become more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. This interconnectedness underscores the importance of thorough risk assessments to protect these critical infrastructures. To address risk assessment effectively, a multi-step approach is typically employed. First, asset identification is essential. Organizations must undertake asset inventory of hardware and software components within their ICS and OT environments, and understand their functions and interdependencies. The step is foundational, as it highlights the critical systems…
