ScottMadden, Inc., one of North America’s leading energy consulting firms, recently released its newest edition of The Energy Industry Update. This highly anticipated semi-annual report provides bottom-line insights, distills recent events, and helps you prepare for emerging trends.
In December 2015, a Ukrainian power outage demonstrated how a cyberattack on an electric utility can unfold. The attack targeted utilities’ operational technology (OT), including an operator’s ability to monitor power flow. Malware was installed to prevent technicians from detecting the attack. Credited as the first known power outage caused by a cyberattack targeting OT and information technology (IT) networks, this demonstrated the importance of IT/OT convergence within enterprise cybersecurity programs.
“IT and OT have been converging as we’ve been moving toward a more digital grid,” said Jon Kerner, partner and IT practice leader at ScottMadden. “Evolving technology and cybersecurity concerns are driving closer collaboration between IT and OT organizations, which is new for many utility organizations.”
Successful IT/OT convergence requires a strategic enterprise cybersecurity program backed by strong executive leadership and project and change management. This report provides an overview of how IT and OT have historically been distinct, recent developments challenging the model, key challenges to IT/OT convergence, and lessons from successful companies addressing convergence challenges.
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Mary Tew
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