Technology & equipment
Digitalisation promises to transform global mining for the better. Yet, amid the rush towards automation and sophisticated data analytics, operators have arguably left their fl anks exposed to malicious hackers. And while mining’s fi nancial well-being is the most immediate target of this new threat, workers themselves could be put at risk too. Andrea Valentino talks to Justin Berman, technical director at Skybox Security, and Alex Dow, CTO at Mirai Security, to understand the scale of the challenge for global mining, how working with external partners is helping operators prepare for the worst – and why rising geopolitical instability could make mining even more of a bullseye.
defence The digital
F
or most of history, the world’s miners have had to face an avalanche of physical threats. Just think of the imagery we traditionally associate with the profession: collapsing passages, thick plastic helmets and canaries to warn of toxic gas. And if modern operators have dispensed with the birdies, mining can still be immensely dangerous. More people are killed or injured across mining than in any other industry, and though conditions have lately improved across Western nations, countries like India and China regularly see annual fatalities soar into the hundreds.
World Mining Frontiers /
www.nsenergybusiness.com
Yet, while miners still need to be conscious of explosions and falling rocks, an even more pernicious threat is now stalking the profession. Just ask Weir: in October 2021, this major industrial supplier suffered one of the worst cyberattacks yet seen in global mining. After hackers infiltrated the company, Weir’s core IT systems, engineering systems and resource planning processes all suffered disruption. That was swiftly followed by deep financial damage. Soon after the assault, the company revised its Q4 revenue down by as much as $27m.
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CoreDESIGN; Pasko Maksim; RDVector/
Shutterstock.com
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