MANUFACTURING SOFTWARE FEATURE
PROTECTING MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS AGAINST RANSOMWARE
Tony Mannion, sales development manager at Industrial IT solutions provider, SolutionsPT, examines the security challenges facing manufacturers running legacy systems and looks at how they can protect themselves against potential ransomware attacks, and ensure they are able to recover critical data in the event of one taking place
M
any UK manufacturers are still running legacy systems which are
extremely vulnerable to ransomware cyber security attacks, such as the high- profile ‘WannaCry’ epidemic which impacted businesses in more than 150 countries last year. But with regulations requiring organisations to protect their data, and with the UK’s manufacturing industry more competitive than ever before, the importance of having a robust disaster resilience provision in place has never been more critical. Although cutting edge industrial systems are available to help UK manufacturers reduce costs, increase profitability and strengthen their place in the market, a significant number of manufacturers still operate legacy control systems which are extremely insecure and liable to leave their systems exposed to disruptive cyber-attacks. Cyber-attacks increased 24 per cent
globally from the first to second quarter of 2017 and manufacturing is the industry most frequently targeted by cyber attackers*, so the risk has never been higher. So how can manufacturers, particularly those still running legacy systems, ensure their operations are protected from a ransomware attack? And, if one does take place, what can they do to negate its impact?
PROTECTIVE STRATEGY With high-profile ransomware attacks such as the WannaCry and Petya epidemics, which affected critical infrastructure such as airports, banks and government departments across the world, and with malware’s ability to spread quickly and force unscheduled downtime, manufacturers can no longer afford to ignore the threat it poses. If unplanned downtime does take place,
manufacturers risk reductions in both productivity and profitability, as well as a
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loss of reputation and, potentially, a loss of clients. Furthermore, many ransomware attacks aren’t targeted, meaning all systems, including unpatched systems, Windows systems and legacy systems, are vulnerable to infection. For networks which suffer from a lack of visibility, knowing what the malware is targeting and what damage it is doing is almost impossible. But loss of data is perhaps the biggest
threat to manufacturers. As well as being enormously disruptive operationally, it often has legal implications for industries required to provide information to Government agencies such as the Environment Agency, where failure to comply risks substantial fines. Likewise, loss of data can be catastrophic for manufacturers in regulated industries such as pharmaceutical, as they cannot sell their products into certain markets unless they have a complete set of production data. Manufacturers can guard against
ransomware attacks by having a protective strategy in place to identify infection early. Modern Disaster Resilience solutions, such as Proteus by industrial IT solutions provider SolutionsPT, feature algorithms which can identify an infection at the outset and protect back-ups, secure data and establish a safe and speedy recovery
To protect against cyber-attacks,
manufacturers should develop an architecture that is inherently secure by design
position. It is designed to be easily retro- fitted, making it especially good at protecting legacy systems. Proteus detects the mass changes of files at the core of a ransomware attack, enabling the recovery of critical data via virtualisation which runs a backup of your machine in isolation from your network and other machines, so infected files can be identified and purged. A disaster resilience provision ensures
full operations are functioning again swiftly, whilst limiting potential data loss. Backups are taken and tested regularly, and stored locally and securely offsite, meaning a redundancy provision is built into your system. The virtualisation technology means those backups can be activated in a virtual environment within minutes of a machine failure, protecting critical OT systems and allowing plants to remain operational whilst a failed machine is replaced. Backups can be undertaken hourly, daily, weekly or monthly, enabling a backup strategy specifically tailored to your site and requirements.
SECURE BY DESIGN To protect against cyber-attacks, manufacturers should develop an architecture that is inherently secure by design, and have a plan in place to protect against the threat of multiple types of cyber-attacks. A disaster resilience provision will enable manufacturers to function in the event of an attack, even when it is impossible to prevent that attack occurring, and should therefore be the cornerstone of your cyber security strategy.
SolutionsPT T: 0161 495 4600
http://solutionspt.com
*
www.computerweekly.com/news/450424302/Manu facturing-a-key-target-for-cyber-attacks
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