Industrial Control System (ICS) Cybersecurity
No matter what you call it — Industry 4.0, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), SmartPlants, and many others — the transformation to a completely digitized and networked industrial environment is well underway. As industrial control systems, processes, devices, data, and communications continue to utilize interconnected, wireless networks, manufacturers and other industrial verticals are realizing some of the largest gains in efficiency and productivity since the dawn of the information age.
Why Is ICS Cybersecurity Important?
However, there is a risk associated with operating in such an interconnected world. Every new device, new network path, and new user gives bad actors multiple opportunities to exploit your defenses. As your industrial networks multiply, your ICS cybersecurity threats grow exponentially.
Increasingly, effective cybersecurity measures are left by the wayside as each industry vertical charges ahead, all trying to stay one step ahead of the competition in the rush to completely digitize their operations.
Industrial Cybersecurity Risk Is Increasing
- Industry 4.0 / Digitalization initiatives increase the breadth and depth of wired and wireless connectivity between the enterprise, cloud, and the OT environment
- Strong demand for remote access to the OT environment for monitoring, maintenance, diagnostics, and operations work activity
- Nation state-sponsored cyber-warfare targeting critical infrastructure, combined with a significant number of legacy/obsolete systems in the OT environment
- Lack of in-house skilled resources that understand the differences between OT networks/systems and the IT landscape, and how mitigation activity must be executed in the asset operational context
Our ICS Cybersecurity Services
The mission of MSB’s ICS Cybersecurity practice area is to help our customers achieve three primary goals:
- Asset Integrity
- Operational Reliability
- Safety
We help our customers achieve these goals by offering the following services:
OT / ICS Cybersecurity Consulting
By leveraging our industry experience in establishing effective OT cybersecurity programs, we provide advisory services in program strategy, governance, integration with existing operations management systems, and change management.
OT / ICS Cybersecurity Assessment
By performing information gathering activities such as site surveys, analysis of engineering reference information, and scans of both on-site and off-site networks, we establish a comprehensive ICS asset inventory that is used to identify gaps and vulnerabilities.
- List of hardware on and off the network
- Comprehensive software inventory
- Patch status of OS and application
- Antivirus and other protective software status
- Map of network connections and possible traffic paths, both system-to-system, and user-to-system
- Location information
- Criticality information
OT / ICS Cybersecurity Gap Closure Recommendations
We provide the roadmap for a risk-based gap closure plan, and a foundation for repeatable, sustainable integrity processes throughout the ICS lifecycle.
- Resolve network path risks
- Resolve high-risk OS vulnerabilities (e.g. patching, upgrades)
- Resolve high-risk application vulnerabilities
- Address system obsolescence vulnerabilities
- Resolve anti-virus gaps
- Resolve critical system backup vulnerabilities
- Resolve system ownership & gap closure responsibilities
- Address policies and procedures gaps and governance-related vulnerabilities
Why You Should Trust MSB With Your ICS Cybersecurity
MSB’s two core competencies are the foundation of ICS cybersecurity
Although M S Benbow officially launched its ICS Cybersecurity practice area in January 2022, the seeds for this new unit were planted long before then. Our ICS cybersecurity practice area is built upon two of MSB’s core competencies:
- Industrial Control Systems
- Networking Technology
MSB has been a leading provider of consultative engineering services in both of these areas for over 40 years. In addition to our experience and expertise, we have partnered with a dynamic leader to head up this new business unit: Marc Chevis. Marc has spent his entire career delivering business value to his clients in the areas of industrial automation, process control, information technology, manufacturing application integration, and enterprise architecture. He also spent over 15 years at Shell where he led the overhaul of the Deepwater unit’s ICS cybersecurity efforts.