The report from Nozomi Networks highlights the increasing sophistication of threat actors targeting operational technology (OT) and Internet of Things (IoT) environments. It covers the second half of 2023 and reveals a concerning trend of growing vulnerabilities, with 885 new ICS-CERT vulnerabilities disclosed, impacting 74 vendors. The critical manufacturing sector experienced the most significant impact, with related CVEs rising by 230% over the previous six months.
One of the major concerns raised by the report is the expanding attack surface for threat actors, providing them with more opportunities for data theft, extortion, and sabotage in OT/IoT environments. Network anomalies and attacks represented the largest share of threats during the reporting period, with authentication and password issues ranking second. Alerts on access control and authorization threats saw a significant increase, indicating ongoing challenges with unauthorized access attempts.
Despite a slight decline in the average number of unique attacks per day, the report urges managers of OT/IoT environments to prioritize security measures. Nozomi Networks emphasizes the need for heightened vigilance, as attackers are adopting more sophisticated methods to target critical infrastructure. These findings underscore the importance of evolving defense strategies to counter the evolving threat landscape in OT and IoT environments.
