Threat Modeling (TM) is a process for identifying and prioritizing potential cybersecurity threats to software, hardware or a system. Contributing to the high value of TM is:
When it comes to developing secure products, the IEC 62443 series of standards provide a lot of guidance and best practices which can be applied while developing the product. This is essentially an approach to designing security into the product rather than trying to add it on at the…
Now that we have a little bit of context on what's driving our current cybersecurity landscape. The next question is, “where does this pragmatic approach come in? What is a pragmatic approach? What does the word pragmatic mean? The dictionary definition is dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a…
When we look at some of the challenges that are facing control systems, we also have to think about what forces are influencing how asset owners adopt cybersecurity. We'll talk about four of those main drivers that play a role in cybersecurity implementation.
One of the things that automation companies are beginning to do is to plan for cyber hygiene. More and more companies are implementing automation specific awareness training for their employees. They conduct periodic exercises which like sending phishing emails to see who if you respond. They might leave USB…
In today’s automation systems environment, certain myths continue to persist. For example, "cyber attacks are only a concern for big companies". Although it may be less likely to be targeted by, say, a nation state attack, we’ve seen that malware can cause a shutdown of a system or trigger a…
Cybersecurity incidents have shown that there can be major consequences for automation systems. There have been incidences where attackers have been able to manipulate the human resource interface console directly. It was only by chance that an operator in one particular instance happened to notice that his mouse pointer…
Before you can dive in and look at the core concept of automation cybersecurity, it's helpful to first define it. Automation cybersecurity is the prevention of intentional or unintentional interference with proper operation of automation systems including industrial controls, smart manufacturing, and IIOT systems through the use of computers,…
Let me be the first to say that I don’t normally do book reviews. Frankly, I thought I left them behind years ago when they were required assignments for my undergraduate classes. Nevertheless, I find myself writing one today, not because I must, but because there are so many cybersecurity professionals…
The New Year is a great time to make resolutions, but often as the weeks pass, these resolutions fall to the back burner. A study completed in 2016 showed that less than 25% of those who set a resolution successfully followed that resolution for a year.1 When we think about…
First off, an introduction is in order. My name is Greg Houser, and I’m one of the new fish here at exida (no, that’s not a typo – the ‘e’ is lowercase in “exida”). And…
Preparedness is defined as being in a state of readiness (Webster, 2022). This can take many different forms but when it comes to cybersecurity, a big part is knowing what threats lie in wait within the cyber landscape. It’s difficult to prepare against threats or vulnerabilities you don’t know exist. Being able…
The thought of tackling a threat model (TM) might not be the most appetizing to some people. Doing a quick Internet search, someone could get stuck under a mountain of acronyms and terms. I mean, what is a CVSS anyway? And then there are the diagrams, attack trees and feedback loops that…
This is the next in a series of blogs and papers on the benefits of cyber certification. You can read part 1 here , part 2 here, and part 3 here . Certification provides you with the opportunity to work with an experienced cyber team here at exida, and…
This is the next in a series of blogs and papers on the benefits of cyber certification. You can read part 1 here and part 2 here. Certification provides you with the opportunity to work with an experienced cyber team here at exida, and the vast knowledge of cyber…