Main security technologies to protect control system assets worldwide 2024

Industrial Control systems (ICS) organizations use different cybersecurity technologies to protect their assets. In a 2024 survey, 65 percent of respondents pointed out firewalls as their main security tech. Moreover, NextGen firewalls and passive network anomaly detection (IDS) are also a common choice for ICS firms.

Securing systems of crucial importance

ICS are a main component of operational technology (OT) systems, used to monitor, control, and automate physical processes and infrastructure in crucial, asset-intensive industries. ICS thus includes diverse types of devices, controls, and networks that manage a variety of industrial processes, including in the electricity, water treatment, transportation, and telecommunications sectors. Faced with a phenomenal increase in the number and scale of cyberattacks targeting on critical infrastructure, a control system risk management plan constituted the main organizational cybersecurity strategy implemented by companies active in the ICS field in 2024.

Insiders represent the biggest threat

Considering the importance of industrial process continuity and public safety-related impacts, it comes as no surprise that both organized crime and state-sponsored actors see critical infrastructure as lucrative targets for financial gain, espionage, or cyberwarfare operations. Nevertheless, well-meaning but negligent insiders are considered the biggest threat actors to ICS security, with malicious insiders ranking second. In 2024, most ICS firms had not experienced any ICS cybersecurity incidents, while another 18 percent reported incidents that resulted in financial loss due to disrupted operations.