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Embracing the 'not if, but when' mindset.

Cybersecurity solutions provider Trellix recently unveiled their 2023 Voice of the CISO report. Among other topics, it explored the top 5 challenges cited by Chief Information Security Officers who responded to the Trellix survey. In order, they included:

• Too many different sources of information.
• A growing attack surface created by remote workers, increasingly complex supply chains and other social and business factors.
• Changing regulatory mandates.
• Difficulties retaining and recruiting staff with the necessary security skills.
• A lack of buy-in from other parts of the company.

These results not only help shine a light on the universal complications of defending IT and OT environments, but the importance of having such conversations in the light of day. Proactive measures and universal support needs to be a priority in order to accurately respond to the evolving regulatory and business continuity efforts that surround industrial cybersecurity.

Joining us to discuss these and other topics is Karan Sondhi, Trellix’s Chief Technology Officer. Trellix is a leading provider of Extended Detection and Response strategies.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast. And if you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

As a go-to podcast for our listeners, we want to help you align your brand with our expertise. By sponsoring our podcast, your brand will build trust, and your message will stand out to an audience searching for tools to assist their cybersecurity efforts.
Click Here to Become a Sponsor.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

If you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

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How a global manufacturer learned from past attacks, and the most critical benefit of security tools.

IBM research shows a 33 percent increase in cyberattacks against manufacturing companies between 2021-2022. Of those, according to IBM, 44 percent occurred because industrial companies failed to apply the appropriate software patches.

With this in mind, it’s not a surprise that additional data from The 2023 OpenText Cybersecurity Threat Report found that manufacturing is the leader in terms of rate of malware infection – coming in at a rate that is more than 55 percent higher than the average for all industry verticals, including healthcare, banking and education.

A lack of endpoint protection via patching, simple firewalls and additional security protocols continue to be issues throughout the industrial sector. Randy Powell, director of cybersecurity at Rheem Manufacturing, a leading provider of HVAC equipment and hot water heaters, discussed all this and more on our latest episode of Security Breach.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast. And if you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

As a go-to podcast for our listeners, we want to help you align your brand with our expertise. By sponsoring our podcast, your brand will build trust, and your message will stand out to an audience searching for tools to assist their cybersecurity efforts.
Click Here to Become a Sponsor.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

If you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

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"It just boggles the mind that things that are so important to how our world works are so shockingly unprotected."

According to ABI Research, less than five percent of critical industrial infrastructure is monitored for threats. The company also reports that by 2030 industrial environments will house more than 1.2 billion connection points for machines and production systems.

So, while it’s impossible to be in all places at all times, this growth in connectivity will place a greater strain on security resources even after prioritizing data and network assets, and focusing on the most pressing potential vulnerabilities. Throw in data from Rapid, the largest API hub in the world, showing that over 60 percent of API users are in manufacturing, and it becomes easy to understand how the industrial attack surface continues to expand and create new opportunities for the bad guys.

These are dynamics that our guest for today’s episode knows all too well.  Huxley Barbee is the Security Evangelist at runZero, a leading provider of cyber asset management solutions.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast. And if you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

As a go-to podcast for our listeners, we want to help you align your brand with our expertise. By sponsoring our podcast, your brand will build trust, and your message will stand out to an audience searching for tools to assist their cybersecurity efforts.
Click Here to Become a Sponsor.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

If you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

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Netskope Threat Labs, a leading provider of threat analysis and cyber defense strategies for cloud-based vulnerabilities, recently published their most recent Threat Labs Report. Findings specific to manufacturing include:

• Cloud-delivered malware increased from 32 percent to 66 percent in the past twelve months, led by downloads from popular apps like Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive and Gmail.
• The report showed that 94 percent of users downloaded data from an average of 17 different cloud apps each month.
• Over the past twelve months, the number of users uploading to cloud apps in manufacturing increased 27 percent.
• Emotet, AgentTesla, and BlackBasta were among the top malware and ransomware groups targeting manufacturing in the past twelve months.
• Malware described as file-based exploits saw a significant uptick in use by these black hat organizations.

Our guest for today’s episode is Netskope's Threat Labs Director Ray Canzanese. He offers some insight on how the industrial sector can continue to utilize the cloud without negatively impacting security.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

And if you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

As a go-to podcast for our listeners, we want to help you align your brand with our expertise. By sponsoring our podcast, your brand will build trust, and your message will stand out to an audience searching for tools to assist their cybersecurity efforts.
Click Here to Become a Sponsor.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

If you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

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The latest tools and technology needed to create and defend your data fortress.

A couple of recent ransomware attacks offer perspective on evolving cybersecurity concerns within the industrial sector

Gentex is a Michigan-based manufacturer of electronic safety systems for the automotive sector. They were attacked by a ransomware gang called Dunghill, which is believed to be a rebranded version of the Dark Angels ransomware gang that had historically targeted the gaming and consumer electronics industry.

In early May, global industrial component and infrastructure systems manufacturer ABB confirmed that it had also been the victim of a ransomware attack. The group Black Basta reportedly hit the company’s Windows Active Directory, disrupting hundreds of devices.

The takeaways from these attacks are that ransomware groups continue to evolve, and in doing so are looking to hit new and more lucrative markets. The industrial sector, as you all know, certainly checks this box.

These are dynamics that our guest for today’s episode, Erik Alfonso Nilsen, Chief Technology Strategist at Flexxon, knows all too well.

We’re excited to announce that Security Breach is being sponsored by Pentera. For more information on how Automated Security Validation can help you safely test all your IT security controls with the click of a button in a non-stop industrial operational environment, visit pentera.io.

As a go-to podcast for our listeners, we want to help you align your brand with our expertise. By sponsoring our podcast, your brand will build trust, and your message will stand out to an audience searching for tools to assist their cybersecurity efforts.
Click Here to Become a Sponsor.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

If you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

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Vital defensive tactics that go beyond the attacker.

The sensor and communication technology associated with remote monitoring has proven to be both a time-saving and productivity enhancing tool, as well as a potentially debilitating cyber defense vulnerability for the industrial sector.

The issues stem from a combination of internal failures and the evolution of highly innovative criminals, which was recently assessed in Cyolo’s State of Industrial Secure Remote Access report

Their report shows that larger industrial organizations can have over 50 remote users every day. This quantity of off-site employees logging into industrial control systems reinforces the top three areas of deficiency – a lack of visibility, insufficient user training, and weak internal access controls.

Our guest for today’s episode, Kevin Kumpf, Chief OT/ICS Security Strategist at Cyolo, will offer some color on these challenges, as well as some potential solutions.

We’re excited to announce that Security Breach is being sponsored by Pentera. For more information on how Automated Security Validation can help you safely test all your IT security controls with the click of a button in a non-stop industrial operational environment, visit pentera.io.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast. And if you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

To download our latest report on industrial cybersecurity,  The Industrial Sector’s New Battlefield, click here.

As a go-to podcast for our listeners, we want to help you align your brand with our expertise. By sponsoring our podcast, your brand will build trust, and your message will stand out to an audience searching for tools to assist their cybersecurity efforts.
Click Here to Become a Sponsor.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

If you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

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How hackers are targeting ERP systems and automating more attacks.

Adding to the data supporting a surge in cyber-criminal activity is the FBI Crime Compliant Center’s most recent Internet Crime Report.

The IC3 data shows that while the number of reported complaints actually dipped by about five percent last year, the financial losses directly attributed with Ransomware, Phishing and other attacks increased by 49 percent – totaling over $10.3 billion.

The report goes on to state that, “we know not everyone who has experienced a ransomware incident has reported to the IC3." The report also called out the top three ransomware groups as LockBit, Blackcat, and Hive – none of which are new to the Security Breach audience.

These hacks, and the hackers involved, are all to familiar to JP Perez-Etchegoyen. He serves as the Chief Technology Officer for Onapsis, a leading provider of integrated cybersecurity offerings. In this episode he offers an in-depth look at new challenges and solutions focused on the ransomware pandemic.

We’re excited to announce that Security Breach is being sponsored by Pentera. For more information on how Automated Security Validation can help you safely test all your IT security controls with the click of a button in a non-stop industrial operational environment, visit pentera.io.

To download our latest report on industrial cybersecurity,  The Industrial Sector’s New Battlefield, click here.

As a go-to podcast for our listeners, we want to help you align your brand with our expertise. By sponsoring our podcast, your brand will build trust, and your message will stand out to an audience searching for tools to assist their cybersecurity efforts.
Click Here to Become a Sponsor.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

If you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

Send us Fan Mail

How increasingly complex attacks might demand taking humans out of the cybersecurity loop.

First published in 2014, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently announced updates to its Cybersecurity Framework (CSF). The goal of version 2.0 of the CSF is to better integrate areas like supply chain risk management and governance.

All of these measures would appear tailored towards greater inclusion of the industrial sector, and many of its unique challenges. And the timing couldn’t be better. According to Proofpoint’s 2023 Voice of the CISO report, 76 percent of industrial sector chief information security officers feel their organization is at risk for a cyber attack within the next 12 months.

Our guest for today’s episode is Ethan Schmertzler, CEO of Dispel, a leading provider of secure access solutions for industrial control systems.

We’re also excited to announce that Security Breach is being sponsored by Pentera. For more information on how Automated Security Validation can help you safely test all your IT security controls with the click of a button in a non-stop industrial operational environment, visit pentera.io

As a go-to podcast for our listeners, we want to help you align your brand with our expertise. By sponsoring our podcast, your brand will build trust, and your message will stand out to an audience searching for tools to assist their cybersecurity efforts.
Click Here to Become a Sponsor.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

If you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

Send us Fan Mail

Credential harvesting, backdoor attacks and staying on top of who or what is logging into your networks.

While more connection points can create more security soft spots for industrial enterprises, it’s no surprise that hackers would generally prefer to log in, as opposed to break in. It’s rumored that credential theft via phishing schemes is how attackers were able to infiltrate Colonial Pipeline.

And as the industrial sector has added more technology, perhaps the greatest overall vulnerability is the login process.

Our guest for today’s episode is  Venkat Thummisi, CTO and Founder of Inside-Out Defense. He offers some first-hand expertise on the hows and whys of access abuse.

We’re also excited to announce that Security Breach is being sponsored by Pentera. For more information on how Automated Security Validation can help you safely test all your IT security controls with the click of a button in a non-stop industrial operational environment, visit pentera.io.

To download our latest report on industrial cybersecurity,  The Industrial Sector’s New Battlefield, click here.

As a go-to podcast for our listeners, we want to help you align your brand with our expertise. By sponsoring our podcast, your brand will build trust, and your message will stand out to an audience searching for tools to assist their cybersecurity efforts.
Click Here to Become a Sponsor.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

If you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].

Send us Fan Mail

Inside the resurgence of ransomware attacks and the rise of billion-dollar "unicorn" hacker gangs.

Believe it or not, there was a time in recent history when we actually experienced a reprieve in ransomware attacks. According to a report from Black Kite, a leading provider of third-party risk management and cyber intelligence, a number of factors contributed to a flattening of ransomware attack frequency in late 2021 and into 2022.

Unfortunately, the bad guys evolved and ransomware attacks have surged in early 2023, with the number of ransomware victims in March of this year coming in at nearly twice that of April 2022, and 1.6 times higher than last year’s highest monthly total.

New players like Black Basta, as well as new strategies from well-known adversaries like LockBit once again brought manufacturing to the top of the list of favorite targets. According to the report, manufacturing represented nearly one out of every five attacks.

Our guest for today’s episode is Jeffrey Wheatman, a Cyber Risk Evangelist at Black Kite.

We’re also excited to announce that Security Breach is being sponsored by Pentera. For more information on their cybersecurity solutions, you can go to Pentara.io.

To download our latest report on industrial cybersecurity,  The Industrial Sector’s New Battlefield, click here.

As a go-to podcast for our listeners, we want to help you align your brand with our expertise. By sponsoring our podcast, your brand will build trust, and your message will stand out to an audience searching for tools to assist their cybersecurity efforts.
Click Here to Become a Sponsor.

To catch up on past episodes, you can go to Manufacturing.net, IEN.com or MBTmag.com. You can also check Security Breach out wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple, Amazon and Overcast.

If you have a cybersecurity story or topic that you’d like to have us explore on Security Breach, you can reach me at [email protected].