High-Stakes Targets: Securing Critical Infrastructure from OT Cyber Threats

Critical infrastructure is the bedrock of modern society. It supports everything from water distribution and power grids to transportation networks and supply chain production. Just as integral is the operational technology (OT) critical infrastructure relies upon, which monitors and controls changes to industrial assets and their processes. This includes industrial control systems (ICS), supervisory control and data acquisitions (SCADA), programmable logic controllers (PLC), distributed control systems (DCS) and more.

As the threat landscape continues to evolve, protection of critical infrastructure and OT is mandatory, not optional. Critical Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) emphasizes disruption of critical infrastructure can impact a combination of public safety, national security and economic stability. With such high stakes, bad actors have increasingly targeted industries and entities responsible for critical infrastructure.

According to the most recent Dragos OT/ICS Cybersecurity Report, ransomware incidents targeting OT increased by 87% in 2024. The risks posed by these attacks are far greater than the millions of dollars coughed up in ransom payments per year (which is nothing to downplay)—essential, life-altering services are on the line. The need for proven, well-governed OT cybersecurity is imperative for owners of critical infrastructure.

The Threat Landscape: Basic Tactics, Devastating Consequences

The ongoing convergence of Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) has revolutionized critical infrastructure, exploiting vulnerabilities. OT environments are historically designed in isolation, not intended to withstand the sophisticated and persistent wave of cyber threats normalized today.

A common misconception among cybersecurity leaders is that threats to OT are inherently complex. In reality, many of the most successful and devastating attacks exploit fundamental oversights and basic vulnerabilities. As CISA warns, “unsophisticated actors are targeting OT systems using simple, repeatable, and scalable toolsets available to anyone with an internet browser.” The consequences, however, are far from simple.

Consider the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack in 2021. This incident, which crippled fuel distribution across the U.S. East Coast, exploited a single compromised password on a legacy VPN account. A basic oversight led to widespread panic, fuel shortages, and significant economic disruption.

Similarly, a water treatment plant incident in Florida highlighted the terrifying potential for physical harm. An attacker gained remote access to the plant’s control system and attempted to increase the level of sodium hydroxide in the drinking water to dangerous levels. This near-catastrophe underscored how easily remote access vulnerabilities can be leveraged.

These incidents underscore key vulnerabilities CISA warns about that continue to plague OT systems:

Vulnerabilities

• Public-facing OT systems: Often exposed to the internet with default passwords or weak authentication, making them easily discoverable and exploitable.
• Poorly segmented networks: Allowing IT breaches to cascade laterally into sensitive OT systems, turning a localized IT incident into an operational catastrophe.
• Insecure remote access: Lacking robust multi-factor authentication (MFA) or granular role-based restrictions, providing an open door for attackers.

Protections

• Remove OT from the public internet: Eliminate direct exposure, which serves as an immediate target for opportunistic attackers.
• Change default passwords and use strong, unique credentials: Implement robust authentication protocols across all systems.
• Secure remote access: Mandate VPNs and phishing-resistant MFA for all remote connections, coupled with strict role-based access controls.
• Segment IT and OT networks: Implement demilitarized zones (DMZs) and firewalls to create logical air gaps, limiting lateral movement and containing breaches.
• Enable manual operations as a fallback: Regularly test fail-safes, backups, and recovery plans to ensure resilience in the face of a cyber event.

CISA’s directives reinforce a foundational truth—the most devastating OT breaches are often preventable, stemming not from advanced nation-state capabilities, but from a failure to adhere to fundamental cybersecurity principles.

Modern Security Measures: AI, Real-Time Monitoring, and Strategic Integration

The evolving nature of modern threats demands equally modern defenses to maintain service reliability and uninterrupted uptime. OT environments must transcend traditional perimeter security, adopting adaptive, real-time monitoring and intelligent threat detection to mitigate both internal and external risks.

The impact of advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in OT environments is transformative. Unlike traditional signature-based detection, which struggles against undetectable zero-day threats, AI-powered systems excel at anomaly recognition. By continuously learning the unique, normal communication patterns and behaviors of every device within an OT network, AI can instantly spot subtle deviations.

For instance, NVIDIA’s Morpheus AI framework, leverages behavioral analytics to detect and neutralize anomalies in OT traffic. This means identifying unusual device-to-device communication, unexpected command sequences, or abnormal data flows that signal a potential threat before it escalates into a full-blown incident. This proactive capability significantly reduces false positives and enables threat identification well ahead of traditional rule-based systems, minimizing operational disruption.

Real-time monitoring further amplifies this capability, providing continuous, granular visibility into OT processes. This goes beyond logging data, providing immediate situational awareness. Real-time monitoring systems detect deviations from normal operating conditions—such as temperature spikes, unexpected pressure changes, or abnormal energy consumption—and flag them instantly. This allows operators to intervene before minor issues escalate into critical failures, ensuring operational continuity and enhancing safety.

Beyond technology, the strategic integration of IT and OT cybersecurity governance is paramount. As EY aptly notes, “Protecting OT is no longer an IT-only issue. It must be treated as a safety-critical imperative with governance models reflecting this priority.” This means dismantling traditional silos and establishing a unified, cross-functional cybersecurity strategy. Their cross-sector approach emphasizes:

• Integrated IT/OT cybersecurity governance: A single, cohesive framework that addresses risks across both domains, fostering collaboration and shared responsibility.
• Continuous improvement cycles: Regular audits, incident simulations, and post-incident reviews to adapt defenses against emerging threats.

This shift reflects a growing recognition at the highest levels of leadership. The World Economic Forum reports that 60% of global manufacturers now treat OT cybersecurity as a board-level issue. They understand that a single vulnerability can cripple physical infrastructure, endanger lives, and incur massive financial losses. This holistic, adaptive approach is the cornerstone of modern OT defense.

Business Value: Cost Avoidance, Compliance, and Continuity

Beyond the imperative of threat prevention, robust OT cybersecurity delivers profound long-term business value, manifesting as significant cost avoidance, enhanced compliance, and guaranteed operational continuity. The financial repercussions of an OT breach can be staggering, far exceeding typical IT incidents due to the potential for physical damage, prolonged downtime, and safety hazards.

According to IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average cost of a data breach for critical sectors such as Energy is $4.72 million, and for Industrial (Manufacturing) it reaches $5.56 million. Although steep, these figures often fail to fully capture the cascading effects of OT disruption, which can include lost production, environmental damage, reputational harm, and severe regulatory fines.

Proactive cybersecurity, therefore, is not an expense but a strategic investment that dramatically reduces the likelihood and impact of such catastrophic events. Gartner estimates that organizations adopting a cybersecurity mesh architecture (CSMA) can reduce the financial impact of incidents by 90% by 2026, underscoring the tangible ROI of advanced security frameworks.

Seneca Resources champions a consultative approach to OT protection, recognizing that effective security must be deeply integrated with an organization’s digital transformation and cloud integration strategies. By aligning these critical pillars, Seneca helps organizations achieve:

• Significant Cost Avoidance: Through robust endpoint protection, proactive threat modeling, and early anomaly detection, organizations can prevent costly breaches, minimize downtime, and avoid exorbitant recovery expenses.
• Enhanced Compliance and Reduced Regulatory Risk: Critical infrastructure sectors operate under stringent regulatory frameworks designed to ensure reliability and security. Proactive OT cybersecurity directly supports adherence to industry standards such as NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF), avoids hefty fines and penalties, and builds trust with regulators and stakeholders.
• Guaranteed Operational Continuity: In critical infrastructure, downtime is not merely an inconvenience; it can be catastrophic. Proactive security measures, including continuous monitoring, robust incident response planning, and resilient architectures, ensure that essential services remain uninterrupted.

As Neil Hershfield, Deputy Director at CISA, emphasizes: “Without consistent, tested, and updated controls in place, OT networks remain vulnerable to disruptions that can spill over into public health, national security, and economic stability.”

Seneca Resources enable clients to shift from a reactive, vulnerable posture to a proactive, resilient one, safeguarding their operations and ensuring uninterrupted service delivery in regulated industries where every second of downtime carries significant consequences.

Improving Infrastructure Resilience

As the threat surface continues its relentless expansion, organizations responsible for critical infrastructure must evolve their cybersecurity strategies with equal urgency. OT cybersecurity is not merely an IT problem; it is a fundamental business imperative that directly impacts operational resilience, financial stability, and public trust. Embrace a proactive security posture to defend your assets, strengthen your defenses, and ensure uninterrupted operational resilience in an increasingly digital and threat-driven world.

Contact Seneca Resources today to discover how our team of OT security experts can help you protect your assets, strengthen your defenses, and ensure operational resilience.