Critical Infrastructure (CI) Series, Post 3: Common Challenges in Securing Critical Infrastructure
Understanding the Barriers to Protecting Essential Systems and How to Overcome Them
Intended Audience: Beginner, general public.
Critical infrastructure organizations face unique cybersecurity challenges that amplify their risk of cyberattacks. With the stakes so high—ranging from public safety to national security—these challenges must be addressed to safeguard vital systems and services. In this post, we’ll examine the key issues that make securing critical infrastructure so complex and what steps can be taken to overcome them.
The Top Challenges in Securing Critical Infrastructure
1. Skills Gap in Cybersecurity Talent
The global shortage of cybersecurity professionals is well-documented, but this issue is especially pronounced in critical infrastructure sectors. Unlike traditional IT environments, these organizations require expertise in operational technology (OT), industrial control systems (ICS), and specialized protocols. The challenge is compounded by the niche nature of these systems, making it difficult to recruit or train professionals with the necessary skills.
2. Expanding Attack Surface
The convergence of IT and OT networks has exponentially increased the attack surface. Industry 4.0 technologies, such as IoT devices, cloud computing, and automation, bring efficiency but also introduce new vulnerabilities. For instance:
As-a-Service Cloud Concerns: Many critical infrastructure organizations adopt SaaS platforms like Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace without fully assessing their security and privacy controls. Shadow IT—the use of unauthorized software or systems—further complicates this issue by creating blind spots in security management.
Mobility and Remote Access: Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and remote connections are essential but often lack sufficient controls, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), leaving critical systems exposed.
3. Aging and Legacy Systems
Many critical infrastructure organizations operate on outdated systems that were never designed with cybersecurity in mind. Updating or replacing these systems is costly and often impractical, yet leaving them unprotected increases the risk of exploitation. These legacy systems are frequently found running unsupported software, like Windows XP, which creates additional vulnerabilities.
4. Supply Chain Vulnerabilities
Critical infrastructure organizations depend on complex supply chains that introduce significant risks. Examples include:
Advanced Supply Chain Attacks: Incidents like the SolarWinds and Microsoft supply chain breaches have shown how attackers can compromise widely used software and services to infiltrate critical systems.
Counterfeit or Compromised Hardware: Organizations may unknowingly use networking equipment or components embedded with backdoors, allowing adversaries to gain unauthorized access. Vetting suppliers and their products is essential to mitigate these risks.
5. Limited Network Visibility
In many critical infrastructure environments, organizations lack the tools to monitor their networks effectively. Without real-time insights, it becomes difficult to detect intrusions or anomalies, allowing attackers to remain undetected for extended periods. This issue is particularly acute in OT environments, where the lack of visibility often stems from outdated monitoring capabilities.
Why These Challenges Amplify Risk
The combination of these challenges creates a perfect storm for cyberattacks. For instance, an attacker might exploit shadow IT systems or a SaaS platform with weak controls to gain initial access, bypass inadequate monitoring, and exploit legacy systems to disrupt operations. In the case of ransomware, attackers often target critical infrastructure precisely because downtime is not an option—forcing victims to pay large sums to restore operations quickly.
The consequences go beyond operational disruptions. Attacks on critical infrastructure can have life-threatening impacts, such as delaying surgeries in healthcare facilities or contaminating water supplies in municipal systems.
Overcoming Challenges with Strategic Solutions
While the challenges are significant, organizations can take proactive steps to mitigate them:
Invest in Workforce Development: Provide specialized training for cybersecurity staff to build expertise in OT and ICS security, focusing on the unique protocols and challenges of critical infrastructure environments.
Enhance Network Visibility: Deploy advanced monitoring tools to gain better insight into network traffic, detect anomalies early, and establish baseline behaviors for OT systems to identify deviations quickly.
Segment Networks: Separate IT and OT environments to limit lateral movement in the event of a breach, and ensure robust segmentation within networks to contain potential threats.
Strengthen Supply Chain Security: Vet suppliers thoroughly and implement rigorous security checks for software and hardware before deploying them. Conduct periodic reviews of vendor relationships to ensure continued compliance with security standards.
Enforce Cloud Security Policies: Regularly audit SaaS and cloud services to ensure they meet strict security and privacy standards. Establish governance to address shadow IT and enforce consistent security practices across all cloud solutions.
Build and Practice an Incident Response Plan: Develop a comprehensive incident response plan tailored to your organization’s unique infrastructure. Regularly test the plan through tabletop exercises and simulations to ensure all stakeholders know their roles and can respond effectively during a cyber incident.
Adopt Robust Identity and Access Management (IAM) Practices: Secure access to critical systems through a layered approach:
Least Privilege Access: Grant users and devices only the access they need to perform their roles, minimizing potential damage from compromised accounts.
Multifactor Authentication (MFA): Require MFA for all remote access and privileged accounts to provide an additional layer of protection against credential theft.
Secure Remote Access: Ensure VPNs, remote desktop tools, and other access methods are configured securely and monitored for misuse.
Account Lifecycle Management: Regularly audit accounts to disable or delete those no longer needed, including accounts for former employees or inactive systems.
Encryption: Encrypt sensitive data both in transit and at rest to protect against interception and unauthorized access.
Align with a Cybersecurity Framework: Use established frameworks, such as the CIS Controls or NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF), to guide your organization’s cybersecurity strategy. These frameworks provide actionable steps for improving security posture, enabling organizations to prioritize and address their most critical vulnerabilities.
Conduct Regular Risk and Vulnerability Assessments: Perform ongoing risk assessments to identify potential threats and vulnerabilities in your environment. Use these assessments to inform your cybersecurity strategy and ensure resources are directed to the highest-priority areas. Periodic penetration testing can further evaluate the resilience of your defenses.
Prioritize Cyber Hygiene: Regularly update software, patch vulnerabilities, and establish baseline security configurations for all systems. Implement automated tools where possible to streamline these efforts and reduce human error.
A Shared Responsibility
Securing critical infrastructure requires collaboration across public and private sectors. Governments must provide resources and guidance, while organizations must prioritize cybersecurity as a core aspect of their operations.
Bottom Line
Securing critical infrastructure is a complex challenge due to talent shortages, expanding attack surfaces, outdated systems, supply chain vulnerabilities, and limited network visibility. These issues heighten the risk of disruptive and life-threatening cyberattacks. Organizations can address these challenges by investing in workforce development, enhancing network visibility, segmenting networks, securing supply chains, enforcing cloud policies, and implementing robust identity and access management practices. Collaboration between public and private sectors is essential to safeguard these vital systems. Proactive strategies and alignment with cybersecurity frameworks are critical for resilience.
Learn More About Common Challenges
For more insight into the challenges of securing critical infrastructure and actionable strategies to address them, watch my video, Securing Our Future: Defending Critical Infrastructure Against Cyberattacks, on Natsar’s website. You’ll gain valuable knowledge and earn Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits—an essential resource for cybersecurity professionals.
Stay tuned for the next post in this series, where we’ll examine real-world case studies of critical infrastructure cyberattacks and the lessons learned from them.
How Natsar Can Help
Natsar specializes in helping organizations address these unique challenges by providing risk assessments, strategic cybersecurity planning, and workforce training tailored to critical infrastructure. Contact us today to learn how we can help secure your organization’s most vital systems.
I appreciated the way you highlighted both technical and organizational hurdles, as it paints a comprehensive picture of the issue.
One question: In light of these challenges, what strategies do you think would be most effective in encouraging private companies to invest in upgrading their critical infrastructure systems, especially when budgets are constrained?