5. Industrial Control Systems Attacks Will Result In Massive Damage, Ransom Payments
Attacks on IT historically had a limited impact on the physical world, but the convergence of IT and OT increases the likelihood of a successfully attack having a severe physical impact, said ForeScout Chief Strategy Officer Pedro Abreu. The absorption of OT environments by IT networks will drive demand for solutions that combine visibility, detection and response, according to ProtectWise researchers.
Unsophisticated attackers will in 2019 get better at breaking into OT Networks, but will lack the level of sophistication needed to have a significant physical impact, said Nozomi Networks Advisor Suzanne Spaulding. Similarly, strict access controls and taking on the threat from malicious insiders would go a long way toward neutering critical infrastructure risks, said ThreatConnect CEO Adam Vincent.
Targeted ransomware campaigns will focus on utilities and industrial control systems (ICS), increasing the average payment demand from $300 to $20,000 and resulting in blackouts and loss of access to public utilities, WatchGuard Technologies said. And Nyotron Co-Founder and CTO Nir Gaist said that an ICS attack in 2019 will result in a major disaster at an industrial plant or a critical infrastructure facility.
