Operational Technology Cybersecurity Rises as Priority for Federal Agencies – But Gaps Remain
14 Mayo 2024 - 8:15AM
Business Wire
90 Percent of Federal OT Leaders Say Their
Agency has Prioritized OT Cybersecurity in the Past Two Years – But
Over Half Have Experienced an OT Cyber Incident in the Last
Year
Sixty eight percent of Federal OT administrators and managers
reported experiencing an operational technology (OT) cyber-incident
in the past year, and 90 percent have placed greater emphasis on OT
cybersecurity. However, only approximately half felt confident they
could detect or mitigate a threat today. These insights are
contained in a new report from MeriTalk, government IT’s top
digital platform, and Claroty, whose mission is to secure the
cyber-physical systems of connected organizations. The report
identifies critical gaps and cites best practices for Federal
security professionals to enhance operational security.
The report, “Guardians of Government: The State of Federal OT
Security,” is based on a survey of 100 Federal security
administrators and managers overseeing OT in Federal civilian and
Department of Defense (DoD) organizations. For this research, OT
refers to programmable systems or devices that interact with the
physical environment or manage devices that interact with the
physical environment.
According to the report, only 55 percent of Federal OT leaders
felt fully confident they could detect and mitigate a threat if it
were to occur today and only 20 percent gave their agency an “A”
grade for cybersecurity preparedness. Gaps in network visibility,
vulnerability/risk management, and secure remote access and
monitoring were all identified as hindering OT security readiness.
Additionally, 65 percent are concerned about the number of OT
assets in their agency that have reached end-of-life but remain
internet facing.
“We are seeing Federal civilian and DoD agencies that place a
strategic emphasis on securing their diverse OT environments as
among the most prepared to defend against threats to their
operations,” commented Heather Young, Regional Vice President,
Claroty, U.S. Federal. “These agencies have prioritized
collaboration between OT and IT security teams, they continually
assess vulnerabilities, and they are standardizing risk models and
upskilling teams to meet current and future threats. This is what
is needed to increase resilience across the Federal
government.”
One third of respondents cited the complexity of OT environments
(including geographic distribution) and the need to increase
collaboration between OT and IT security teams as areas for
improvement. To accelerate progress, OT leaders recommend
standardizing risk models, enhancing visibility and access
controls, and upskilling staff.
The report is based on a survey of 100 Federal security
administrators and managers conducted in March 2024. The
quantitative research has a margin of error of ±9.78% at a 95%
confidence level. To view the full findings, view the report.
About MeriTalk
The voice of tomorrow’s government today, MeriTalk is a
public-private partnership focused on improving the outcomes of
government IT. Our award-winning editorial team and world-class
events and research staff produce unmatched news, analysis, and
insight. The goal: a more efficient, responsive, and
citizen-centric government. MeriTalk connects with an audience of
160,000 Federal community contacts. For more information, visit
https://www.meritalk.com/ or follow us on Twitter, @MeriTalk.
MeriTalk is a 300Brand organization.
About Claroty
Claroty empowers organizations to secure cyber-physical systems
across industrial, healthcare, commercial, and public sector
environments: the Extended Internet of Things (XIoT). The company’s
unified platform integrates with customers’ existing infrastructure
to provide a full range of controls for visibility, risk and
vulnerability management, threat detection, and secure remote
access. Backed by the world’s largest investment firms and
industrial automation vendors, Claroty is deployed by hundreds of
organizations at thousands of sites globally. The company is
headquartered in New York City with U.S. federal headquarters in
Leesburg, VA. To learn more, visit claroty.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240514063946/en/
Logan Prescott 703-883-9000 ext. 145 lprescott@meritalk.com