Growing and persistent threats from hacktivists targeting critical infrastructure

In a joint advisory, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and partners detailed ongoing cyber activity targeting industrial control systems (ICS). To cause disruption and gain publicity, hacktivists often target critical infrastructure, ranging from water treatment facilities to oil well systems. They exploit exposed services, weak authentication, and poor network segmentation in legacy operational technology (OT). Although these hacktivists are generally unsophisticated and mostly cause only temporary loss of view, they show lack of consideration for human safety and incur substantial labor costs associated with operational downtime and network remediation.

Many of the techniques, such as remote access abuse, lateral movement, and command-and-control communications, depend on bidirectional connectivity between IT and OT environments. Purpose-built protections like BlackBear data diodes can prevent remote attackers from issuing commands into sensitive OT networks, even if upstream IT systems are compromised. Other recommended mitigations include minimizing attack surfaces, strong network segmentation, strict access controls, and continuous monitoring. Reach out to the BlackBear team to learn more about how we help build a comprehensive, secure network for your critical infrastructure.

Source: CISA