By Katell Thielemann, analyst at Gartner
In early May, a large gas pipeline operator in the U.S. announced that it had been affected by a ransomware attack, disrupting operations for days afterwards. As a result, gas stations around the country saw rising prices and high demand as consumers grew concerned about the impact of the cyberattack on their ability to fuel their vehicles.
A mere two weeks later, U.S. meat production was halted due to another ransomware attack.
While operations have since returned to normal, this incident shows the potential for harm when the cyber and physical worlds intersect. These cyber-physical systems (CPS) introduce a new set of risks that few security and risk leaders have had to consider so far, but many will in the near future.
Although enterprise IT security is generally well-known and managed, CPS challenges traditional security approaches because they process more than information; they manage and optimize physical outcomes, from individual processes to entire ecosystems.
In a recent Gartner survey, security and risk leaders ranked the Internet of Things (IoT) and CPS as their top concerns for the next three to five years. Due…
