According to Bridewell, more than eight in 10 UK Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) companies (83%) believe new technologies designed to increase sustainability will be a key vector for cyberattacks. It is said that there is
The security services company conducted a survey of 500 cybersecurity decision makers in the transportation, aviation, finance, utilities, government and telecommunications sectors and produced a report. Security and Sustainability Across Critical National Infrastructure: 2023.
For more information on the CNI threat, see Critical Infrastructure Companies. See “Surge in cyberattacks.”
According to the report, most UK CNI companies have aggressive IT (58%) or OT (62%) projects underway, focused on reducing carbon emissions and improving resource efficiency. I understand.
However, the majority also believe that the introduction of these new technologies, which may span cloud computing, renewable energy infrastructure and smart grids, will expand the cyber attack surface and the number of points of entry across the CNI network. I am concerned about
More than two-fifths (42%) of respondents said these new technologies would be difficult to manage and secure, and a similar percentage (40%) said they would require significant retraining of their security teams. . Even more (43%) are concerned that executives seem to have little understanding of the new risks their organization may be exposed to.
Industry experts surveyed by Bridewell pointed to another way climate change could pose a threat to cybersecurity.
Fifth (20%) claimed that extreme weather could compromise critical networks, and 22% said it would lead to an increase in telecommuting, which would also expand the attack surface for businesses. A quarter argued that economic stress from climate change could spur an increase in cybercrime, and 23% agreed that it could also lead to an increase in political hacktivism.
“Sustainable technologies and carbon capture systems being deployed by start-ups pose significant cybersecurity risks to critical infrastructure as they fall outside the scope and scale of regulations. It will harm your organization and expose your organization to even greater cyber threats,” argues Martin Riley, director of managed security services at Bridewell.
“Organizations should adopt a security-by-design approach to all newly implemented sustainable tools and consult with experts to ensure regulatory standards are met. By incorporating robust security measures and integrating them into existing systems, CNI can effectively address these vulnerabilities and mitigate the growing cyber threats we face.”
