As we reach the end of this year’s Cyber Security Awareness Month (CSAM), I think we can all agree that security must become a top priority for industrial companies across all industries. With new advanced threats emerging daily, managing cyber security is no longer a risk that organizations can turn a blind eye to. Throughout this month I have shared how building a secure foundation and implementing best-in-class technology to simplify operational technology (OT) security are critical steps toward a better security posture. However, as I mentioned in previous blogs if the security of a system is not well maintained the protection it provides begins to deteriorate over time.
In my final blog post of this year’s ABB Process Automation Cyber Security Awareness Month, I’d like to share the importance of having the right people and a trusted OT security partner when protecting your systems. Many industrial companies do not have dedicated security professionals available to them and sometimes require outside consultation and services to ensure the effectiveness of their investments throughout the lifecycle of their industrial control systems (ICS). In this blog, I’ll share how ABB has the resources and expertise to be at your service as a trusted and proven OT security partner to ensure the security of your system is kept at a good state.
Catch up on ABB Cyber Security Awareness Month here.
Cyber security workforce crisis
As previously mentioned in past blogs, cybercrime is on the rise and growing at an exponential rate. Throughout this month I’ve outlined key steps toward improving security posture and better preparing yourself to combat this evolving threat. However, what if you do not have the personnel or expertise to execute and maintain the security of your OT system? This is a very real concern for many industrial companies—the reality is cybercrime is growing at an unprecedent rate while the cyber security talent gap continues to widen. Imagine a world where street crime flourished, and we had millions of unfilled law enforcement positions that remained open. What would we have? Absolute anarchy.
This is the predicament that we are currently in when it comes to cyber. The need for cyber security experts is growing, even faster than companies can hire—with no signs of demand slowing down anytime soon. According to Cyber Security Ventures’ the number of open cyber security positions worldwide has grown by 350% from 1 million to 3.5 million, shining a light on the crucial necessity for security experts. The truth is most industrial companies are at risk, in large part, because of the lack of personnel to properly manage and maintain the security posture of their OT systems. To combat the skill gap shortage, industrial companies should look for a trusted security partner with the expertise, skills, and personnel to assist them in the ongoing protection of their critical infrastructure.
Security is ‘Part of our DNA’
At ABB, our OT security expertise is rooted in more than three decades of experience in planning, implementing, and deploying ICS security frameworks across some of the world’s most critical infrastructure. We not only talk the talk but walk the walk with security ingrained in our company’s core values, culture and practices. To ensure we are a secure and trustworthy supplier to our customers we enact multiple layers of processes and polices—by following a Defense in Depth strategy that includes Minimum Cyber Security Requirements, Security Development Life Cycle, Vulnerability Handling, Supply Chain Security, and more to successfully reduce potential attack vectors from being exploited.
To this end and with security top of mind, ABB has assisted industrial companies across the globe in making their environments more simple and secure through a holistic end-to-end approach to protecting their people, assets, and data from cyber-attacks. At the core of our ability to secure OT environments, is our ABB industrial cyber security engineers and certified security specialist. Access to our security professionals compliment organizations favorably, who lack dedicated security personnel at their site. For organizations that require this additional expertise, ABB has you covered with security certified experts across the world ready to support you in the ongoing battle against cyber criminals.
Additionally, our rich experience makes us the perfect partner for securing operational technology. Since the 1980s, ABB has pioneered the process control and automation industries delivering cutting-edge technologies and services to our clients across various verticals. As the global leader in distributed control systems, we’ve also helped shape the best-practices and standards in securing these complex environments. Recognized for our contributions, we possess certifications and awards from accredited security bodies and committees—while often participating in their development holding positions ranging from reviewers-to-contributors-to-co-editors. Below is a glimpse into what makes ABB the perfect security partner for assisting industrial companies in the protection of their OT environments.
Need peace of mind? ABB is here.
Want to grow your cyber security expertise without growing your team? ABB is your go-to trusted security partner for securing OT environments. Our experts serve as an extension of your team without the need to increase your headcount. ABB cyber security engineers and experts will not only implement security solutions but maintain them over time—ensuring a strong security posture to protect against cyber threats.
The fundamental skills our experts have learned, over the course of decades of experience, are directly transferable to securing the world’s most critical infrastructure. We understand your industry, we understand your environment—and by leveraging our rich expertise and knowledge we can provide our clients the technology and services they require to best protect their complex environments throughout the lifecycle of their industrial control systems.
ABB will partner with you to augment your security team and integrate into your existing cyber strategy across your assets, processes, and people throughout the organization. As needed ABB security experts can manage and preserve the effectiveness of your security posture to minimize the risk to your production. Through this continuous maintenance and monitoring of your security posture, ABB Cyber Security Services can provide industrial companies:
- Always-on Maintenance: Continuous maintenance assures that all security solutions, systems, and operating systems have the latest updates and patches for better security control.
- Faster Recovery: Frequent and validated backups enable you to recover quickly from a breach without suffering the consequences of down-time and data loss during a security incident.
- Security Reliability: Peace of mind that all security related activities are being accounted for and completed in a timely manner with clear roles and responsibilities defined to maintain security posture.
End-to-end industrial cyber security
As an industrial company, you are facing elevated cyber security risk to some of the world’s most critical infrastructure. Organizations seeking to combat these threats require a partner that has deep domain expertise in both their industry and protecting industrial control systems. With ABB organizations can increase their business agility to address and adapt to threats with an enhanced holistic end-to-end security approach to OT security.
The ABB Ability Cyber Security portfolio of products and services leverage common security building blocks and ABB security expertise—from consultancy-to-technology-to-services—to better protect your people, assets, and data from increasingly complex threats. Together, we can continuously assess, implement, and maintain your OT environment’s security posture in this ever-evolving threat landscape.
If you’re ready to start your cyber security journey, contact an ABB security expert today!
This is the final blog in a series of 4, to read my earlier Cyber Security Awareness blogs view:
- Blog 1: ABB kicks off Cyber Security Awareness Month
- Blog 2: Building a secure foundation for digitalization
- Blog 3: Simplifying OT security with ABB Ability Cyber Security
Author
Ruben Ramirez graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s in economics and business administration. He has over 12 years of B2B experience productizing, marketing, and launching SaaS solutions to better support and benefit organizations around the world.
He has worked on information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT), covering portfolios in supply chain, petroleum refining, cyber security, virtualization, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and more. Currently he serves as the Global Product Marketing Manager in Operational Excellence and Cyber Security for the Process Automation Process Industries (PAPI) Digital Business Line based in Houston, Texas.
