This month, a vulnerability identified in the Lantronix XPort, a device globally used product across manufacturing, energy, and other critical infrastructure industries. Specifically, the CISA has flagged an issue with the Lantronix XPort. The XPort enables remote connectivity, meaning that hackers could use this vulnerability to access the device’s configuration interface and work their way through the layers of connected systems. Separately, the city of Abilene in Texas just confirmed that it experienced a cyberattack causing a shut down of systems for a period of time. While these cases are not related, they do reflect the ongoing and expanding cybersecurity threats that critical infrastructure operators face.
Building on a trend we’ve witnessed over the last several years, cyber company Semperis reported that “62% of water and power operators in the United States and the United Kingdom have been targeted by cyberattacks in the past year, and of those, 80% have been targeted multiple times,” according to Route Fifty. More than half have experienced permanent damage due to system infiltration.
What’s more is that a growing number of cyberattacks are carried out by nation-state actors. The same report concluded that 59% of those they surveyed were impacted by nation-backed attacks. One of the more recent examples of this is Volt Typhoon, which accessed a U.S. electric grid for 300 days.
Volt Typhoon reflects another trend in critical infrastructure cybersecurity threats, which is the use of commonly used, legitimate tools to surpass guards put in place. This discreteness and stealth makes it even more difficult to detect, especially for operators with limited resources. In order to help address these challenges, investors are increasingly turning to organizations with innovative cybersecurity solutions for critical infrastructure. With each incident, we are reminded that the act of protecting physical and digital aspects of operations is essential in today’s environment.
Sources:
- “Lantronix Device Used in Critical Infrastructure Exposes Systems to Remote Hacking” – Eduard Kovacs, Security Week
- “Cyberattack disrupts Texas city’s systems” – SC Media
https://www.scworld.com/brief/cyberattack-disrupts-texas-citys-systems
- “‘Living off the land’ a major cyber threat to critical infrastructure, report finds” – Chris Teale, Route Fifty
- “Cybersecurity investors increase focus on critical infrastructure protection” – Fernando Moncada Rivera, Global Venturing
https://globalventuring.com/corporate/industrial/cybersecurity-critical-infrastructure-protection/
