Cybersecurity OT at the core of corporate strategies

The scenario of Operational Technologies (OT) is fast evolving, as a growing number of businesses are called to face ever more sophisticated threats. According to the Fortinet Global Report of 2023, 25% of businesses faced OT intrusions during the year, representing a massive 6% increase compared to 2022. This phenomenon puts the spotlight on the urgent need to protect the operational infrastructure from the growing threat of cyber attacks.

In such a context, gaining a full knowledge of the corporate infrastructure and conversely adopting effective safety measures becomes ever more important. The main issue lies in the frequency of updates to OT assets falling behind the number of IT assets, especially in Italy, due to long payback times and the lack of long-term planning.

In order to effectively tackle security issues in the OT realm, it’s crucial to guide businesses towards a clear consciousness, first and foremost on investment planning, where Cybersecurity OT should be considered one of the key budget items.

Global Data Solutions Cyber Fusion & Products is the new BU of Mashfrog Group dedicated to such tasks, and Antonio Grillo heads it.

“Today – as the manager explains – companies have shortened the timeframe of their business plans to gain agility: in the past, businesses usually developed 5 or 7-year business plans, but today, most cases see this timeframe reduced to 3. Our task is to explain how Cybersecurity OT isn’t just solving an issue, but rather, how it’s now an integral part of corporate strategies”.

Achieving this goal means having a clear focus on what capabilities are readily available: “By mapping assets and providing businesses with an estimate of risk indicators, we can make sure OT security becomes an integral part of financial planning, defining a long-term goal of securing facilities”.

Mashfrog Group has embraced an innovative approach in assisting businesses that aim to reach this awareness, introducing IT-derived technology to improve security in OT, thus allowing the onset of an automated approach to safety operations as well.

All instances examined so far witness a growing number of cyber attacks and an ever-growing complexity. Facing this perfect storm calls for the convergence of other cutting-edge technologies like AI.

Hence, there’s now the need to introduce partially automated countermeasures, not based on a pre-established script, but rather, based on a trial & fix system, gradually adapting to corporate needs. The speed in the first response - based on machine learning technologies - applied to an Augmented decision system that supports the decision maker by presenting only relevant info, allows a pioneering introduction of IA both in the detection and in the remediation phases.

Finally, Mashfrog Group presents itself as a beacon for businesses that are facing the challenges of cybersecurity OT. Awareness, planning, and an eye on the future are the fundamental pillars on which to build an effective OT security strategy, as the key step in protecting operational facilities from an ever-evolving cyber threat.