Nozomi report on edge security outlines new IoT Botnets and shifting threats from ransomware
A new report from Nozomi Networks Labs finds cyber threats against OT and IoT infrastructure continued to grow in number and impact in the first half of this year.
As OT-reliant organizations are increasingly embracing IoT devices, and COVID-19 has forced a global shift to remote work, threat actors appear to be capitalizing on these trends. In the first six months of 2020, threat actors used IoT botnets and shifting ransomware tactics as their weapons of choice for targeting OT and IoT networks.
Nozomi Networks’ “OT/IoT Security Report” finds that: new and modified IoT botnets are among the fastest growing categories of attacks; ransomware attackers are targeting larger, critical organizations and demanding higher ransoms, and are often using a two-pronged approach that combines data encryption with data theft; SNAKE/EKANS ransomware continued to strike, exhibiting OT-awareness and suggesting that non-state threat actors could target industrial control systems; the pandemic has provided threat actors with more vectors and opportunities for exploitation including targeting researchers and healthcare organizations, and; improper input validation and buffer overflows topped the ICS-Cert vulnerabilities reported in the first half of 2020 and the number of vulnerabilities tracked by ICS-Cert is growing significantly compared to 2019.
“The steep rise in threats targeting operational networks should be a serious concern for security professionals responsible for keeping not only IT, but OT and IoT networks safe,” says Andrea Carcano, Nozomi Networks Co-founder and CPO. “The days when threats to operational networks were few and far between and often attributed to nation-state actors are clearly behind us. As IT, OT and IoT worlds converge, threat actors of all types are setting their sights on higher value targets, leaving security organizations scrambling to keep up. It’s a daunting task, but not impossible. We know from working with thousands of industrial installations that you can monitor and mitigate these risks, whether they stem from cybercriminals, nation-states or employees.”
The report summarizes the most active OT and IoT threats and vulnerabilities seen by Nozomi Networks Labs in the first six months of this year, shares insights into threat tactics and techniques, and provides recommendations for protecting critical networks.
Article Topics
Botnets | edge security | Industry 4.0 | IoT | Nozomi | ransomware
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