Energy companies are becoming increasingly common targets for cyber attacks — especially as the IT/OT convergence has widened the attack surface. Given that nation-state adversaries are now wielding cyber as an element of national power, the importance of the power grid, oil and gas infrastructure, and renewable energy systems cannot be understated. Energy companies have little to no tolerance for cyber risk and, accordingly, are paying close attention to secure any vulnerabilities at any point in the complex chain of systems. These organizations rely heavily on cybersecurity partners, third-party providers, and interconnected solutions to stay protected from cyber criminals and nation-state threat actors.
Shaik Abdulkhader, a CISO at a Middle East energy company, leverages IronNet’s unique capabilities to protect the organization from cyber threats. Abdulkhader is a cybersecurity thought leader in the Middle East region. He is recognized as a pioneer in digital transformation in cybersecurity within the energy sector. Abdulkhader took time to speak with us about the current state of cybersecurity in the energy industry, some pain points energy stakeholders face, and how IronNet delivers value in the organization.
Due to the complexity of systems and the length of time many energy companies have been in operation, there is an inherent problem of legacy systems. These systems were put in place decades ago and meant to operate just as long. Technology has come a long way.
Abdulkhader explains, “Cybersecurity is uniquely important for oil and gas industry. Most of the organizations or the oil and gas industry if you look at the average life, is about 30 to 40 years, and which means it inherits a legacy problem of obsolescence.”
IT systems and OT systems have historically been treated as separate entities within energy companies, where the OT systems were kept offline (air-gapped with proprietary communication protocols) and separate from the IT systems. "The OT systems, which have been isolated for a very long time, now converge with IT, and it brings a lot of threats from the IT world to the OT world," says Abdulkhader.
With digital transformation in the forefront, IT and OT convergence means that the industrial internet of things (IIoT) is changing the way legacy OT systems are being operated to deliver
better productivity and efficiency. Digitization of critical infrastructure enables improved visibility of asset performance, energy use, and maintenance, but it also brings new risks. Adversaries are now looking for vulnerabilities within IT networks to gain a foothold to OT networks (e.g., by stealing or compromising user credentials). Vulnerabilities within IT systems can have a trickle down effect on OT networks and industrial control systems, potentially leading to destructive cyber attacks.
"A major factor or a driver that is pushing our organization is IT/OT convergence. All those threats which were aligned to the IT world are now getting exposed to the OT world. So, striking a balance between the IT and OT is very important from the security controls perspective."
Like all industries, the energy sector is experiencing digital transformation that is disrupting operations and business processes. This is particularly impactful for older companies that have been around for decades, as they move legacy systems to digital, and when appropriate, to the cloud.
Security has to be top of mind for these organizations in their digital transformation. “Security has been one of the biggest barriers for the digital transformation,” says Abdulkhader, “When it is security-enabled digital transformation, it helps to accelerate faster, digitize faster, and make your organization more productive.”
After due diligence and product comparisons, Abdulkhader found that IronNet’s Collective Defense platform was the solution they needed for cybersecurity.
"IronNet fits very well within our long term strategic plan. Its unique feature of Collective Defense helps us and our sister companies, as well as contributing to the bigger picture, the law enforcement agencies, and organizations in financial services, utilities, and other manufacturing companies."
Energy sites rely on complex connections that have little to no room for error. IronNet provides flexibility in deployment options, whether on-premises, on cloud, or a hybrid.
IronNet stood out among all the products in terms of its unique features like Collective Defense, threat hunting, visibility as well as analytics features, which completely makes the solution stand out from other products and other technologies."
With the growing number of cyber and ransomware attacks happening globally, the need for Collective Defense and exchange of threat intel is crucial. IronNet provides the only platform where organizations and stakeholders can identify and exchange unique threat information in real time and anonymized, seeing and stopping attacks before significant business impact.
"[IronNet] not only helps our organization, but several other organizations, by means of Collective Defense where we can share knowledge and as well as threat intel among our sister companies."
IronNet supports energy and utility companies worldwide by providing cybersecurity solutions that keep threats at bay and protect the most critical systems. Advanced Network Detection and Response (NDR) capabilities, including an automated alert correlation engine designed to reduce false positives, set IronNet apart from the competition in identifying and mitigating unique threats early in the kill chain. Collective Defense enables energy and utility companies and stakeholders to work together to detect, triage, and stop attacks before they cause damage to the energy supply chain, which could have devastating effects.