Cyberattacks can cause devastating business disruptions and lead to financial losses reaching hundreds of millions of dollars.
The World Economic Forum’s 2020 Global Risk Report ranked cyberattacks causing disruption to operations and critical infrastructure among the top five increasing global risks. Accenture estimates that the number of cyberattacks has gone up by 67% in the last five years.
The increasing digital connectivity of industrial networks opens them up to cyber threats, underscoring the importance of protecting not just IT systems, but also operational technology (OT) systems. An analysis of the most prominent cyberattacks that occurred over the past five years across a variety of industries – conducted by Nozomi Networks – shows that OT systems were frequently impacted. Industry sources confirm that regardless of the type of malware deployed, victims suffer business disruption, information loss, revenue loss and equipment damage.
Fortunately, new technology is available that significantly reduces risk by improving the cybersecurity of industrial networks. Simpler to deploy than you might expect, it delivers a nearly immediate ROI.
2016
Duke Energy
Electric Power Company
CYBER COMPLIANCE
Failure to Meet Regulated Cybersecurity Standards
COST
$10 Million
Duke Energy Corp. was fined $10 million by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) for cybersecurity violations that took place between 2015 and 2018. The 127 violations of safety rules included failure to protect sensitive information on its most critical cyber assets and allowing improper access to sensitive systems and physical locations.
The lapses were considered to pose “a serious risk to the security and reliability” of the power system. Most were self-reported and were attributed to lack of managerial oversight.
2017
A.P. Moller Maersk
Shipping and Logistics
CYBER COMPLIANCE
Ransomware: NotPetya
COST
$300 million
A NotPetya attack disrupted operations for two weeks, blocking access to systems the company relied on to operate shipping terminals. The incident temporarily shut down the Port of Los Angeles’ largest cargo terminal. The company lost $300 million in business disruption and equipment damage. Maersk had to undertake an almost complete infrastructure overhaul. They reinstalled 4,000 servers, 45,000 PCs and 2,500 applications over the course of ten days, a process that would normally have taken six months to implement.
2018
Saudi Petrochemical Plant
Electric Power Company Oil and Gas
CYBER COMPLIANCE
OT-Specific Malware: TRITON
COST
Undisclosed
A petrochemical plant in Saudi Arabia, owned by Tasnee, was the victim of a milestone cyberattack that aimed to impact its physical process, by interacting with and controlling its safety system. Fortunately, TRITON’s programming led to an automated, safe shutdown of the facility, rather than the intended explosion or uncontrolled disruption.
While the costs of the incident were not disclosed, they included business disruption, process disruption, revenue loss and a major cyber investigation.
2019
Norsk Hydro
Metals and Mining
CYBER COMPLIANCE
Ransomware: LockerGoga
COST
$70 million
The ransomware LockerGoga blocked the company’s systems, forcing a switch to manual operations and workarounds. The Extruded Solutions unit, which makes components for car manufacturing, construction and other industries, reduced its output by 50%. Administrative systems, such as reporting, billing and invoicing, suffered delays. It took Norsk Hydro several weeks to bring operations back to normal. Lost margins and low production volumes were estimated to cost up to $70 million.
More Costs of Prominent Industrial Cybersecurity Incidents
Find out How to Reduce Risk with OT and IoT Visibility and Security Technology
While increasing cyber threats dominate the news, there is good reason to be optimistic.
New technology, such as the Nozomi Networks solution, is easy and safe to deploy, and dramatically improves OT cyber resiliency and risk mitigation. It is a single application that can be used by both OT and IT, and it integrates seamlessly with security infrastructure.
