Armis Attack Path Mapping
Challenges in OT Security – Following The Proliferation of an Attack
Operational Technology (OT) environments are the backbone of industrial and critical infrastructure operations. However, these systems have become more converged with IT networks and IoT devices, thus introducing new vulnerabilities and a larger attack surface that adversaries can exploit. Organizations face several significant challenges in securing OT environments:
- Complexity and Diversity of Systems – OT environments encompass a mix of legacy and modern systems, each with unique vulnerabilities, making uniform visibility, security enforcement and management across all assets and devices difficult.
- Operational Disruptions – Unlike IT systems, OT assets operate continuously, making it challenging to schedule maintenance windows and/or perform security updates. In some cases, legacy systems may not even have applicable security updates to deploy.
- Limited Visibility – Many OT devices communicate using specialized and proprietary industrial protocols that lack traditional IT monitoring capabilities. Up to 50% of OT assets are dormant, meaning they do not communicate over the network. Due to the sensitive nature of OT devices, scanning for threats can destabilize the integrity of devices. Each of these limitations can lead to security blind spots.
- Cyber-Physical Convergence – Cyberattacks on OT can have direct physical consequences, such as equipment damage, safety hazards, and production halts.
- Regulatory Compliance – Industries such as energy, healthcare, and manufacturing must adhere to strict security and compliance mandates, further complicating risk management.
Attack Path Mapping & Its Role in Cyber Exposure Management?
Attack Path Mapping is the process of systematically identifying, visualizing, and analyzing potential attack vectors within an OT environment. By going beyond simple device inventory, mapping attack paths empowers organizations in gaining a proactive understanding of how an adversary might exploit vulnerabilities to move laterally between IT and OT or to interconnected systems via east-west traffic attack proliferation.