At the beginning of this year, Industrial Cyber reported that “The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released six industrial control systems (ICS) advisories and updated an ICS medical advisory, issuing cybersecurity advisories to the critical infrastructure sector about hardware vulnerabilities.” While the advisory spoke to specific vulnerabilities, it also reflected a larger trend in our industry, which is the rising cybersecurity threat to hardware and OT.
Ongoing Separation Between Hardware Operators and Cybersecurity
One of the biggest challenges that we still encounter when working with clients or speaking to others in manufacturing or critical infrastructure sectors is that the people who are working with industrial ruggedized solutions are not involved in cybersecurity. They’re still just operating in the hardware lane. However, we know that they can no longer work in this type of silo. Cybersecurity for OT and critical infrastructure systems is essential and appears in many efforts, including a recent policy recommendation released by the National Security Agency regarding smart controller devices installed for operational technology in national security systems. The primary driver for this increase is that combining IT and OT systems is becoming increasingly more mainstream and is exposing OT systems more than ever before.
Bridging the Divide between Industrial and Cybersecurity Expertise
That’s where the uniqueness of DYNICS comes in. We understand and function in both spaces – hardware and cybersecurity. Through our products, we are bridging the gaps between hardware solutions, communication between network operations, and designing in cybersecurity from inception to production. In addition, we run this all in-house, which cuts down on the costs often associated with these individual tasks. Not only that, but we offer knowledge in specific critical infrastructure sectors such as the water industry. This particular industry is a growing target for cyberattacks. This is true for both its OT systems as well as its IT systems as seen in the cyberattack on American Water, the largest publicly traded United States water and wastewater utility. Given the growing threats to water operations, many of which are small-scale and lack extensive resources, our cost-effective, expert-driven, and design-in approach provides strong support for operational technology (OT) environments and critical infrastructure operators, including those in the water and wastewater sectors.
Sources
“CISA flags hardware vulnerabilities in ICS and medical devices; affects B&R, Schneider Electric, Rockwell, BD Systems” – Industrial Cyber
https://industrialcyber.co/cisa/cisa-flags-hardware-vulnerabilities-in-ics-and-medical-devices-affects-br-schneider-electric-rockwell-bd-systems/
“NSA Issues Smart Controller Cybersecurity Protocols for OT Environments” – Arthur McMiller, ExecutiveGov
https://executivegov.com/2025/04/nsa-smart-controller-cybersecurity-recommendations/
“Cyberattack on American Water: A warning to critical infrastructure” – Jonathan Reed, IBM
https://www.ibm.com/think/news/cyberattack-on-american-water-warning-critical-infrastructure
