SecureG delivers a customer-specific private PKI system that integrates with Operational Technology (OT) systems, securing the environment by putting identity-based security in every node. Every OEM solution is different, so SecureG partners with our customers to design the security, policies, and procedures that make sense for your business.
PKI for OT devices deployments is very different from traditional certificates for employees or webservers. OT’s environmental characteristics make security harder and must be factored in to a PKI design. For example, here are a few of the details that must be addressed:
- OT Environments can be risky and unsupervised: physically accessible to public, but also potentially remote and inaccessible to operators. Devices must designed to be remotely accessible and still secure.
- Connectivity: Devices might use one or more of Ethernet, Bluetooth, WiFi, Cellular, NFC, LoRa, and other short range protocols, which may not be always available. Security designs must account for sporadically disconnected endpoints.
- Computation and power capabilities can be very limited on IoT devices due to cost constraints and operating environments. The PKI and related security choices must account for constrained environments.
- Machine to Machine paradigm. When there is never a human in the loop, provisioning, updating, renewal and recovery operations must be made automatic. Setup schemes that use usernames and passwords, or send out-of-band codes by SMS are just not appropriate.
- Availability and reliability are more important because no humans are there to troubleshoot. These systems must be able to resolve most issues without human intervention.
SecureG’s PKI solution provides a low-cost, flexible, and standardized solution that delivers on the three key capabilities necessary for OT system security: authentication, confidentiality, and integrity.
- Authentication for secure network access. By issuing unique identities in the form of digital certificates for every node in a customer system it possible to authenticate them every time they request network access.
- Secure machine-to-machine communications. PKI helps safeguard data by providing end-to-end data encryption, both at rest and in transit. This helps ensure the data stored in OT systems and the communication between IT and OT systems remain insulated from attacks. Encrypting communications also helps meet compliance requirements. Regulatory bodies, such as the NERC, FERC, NIST, and U.S. President Biden’s recent executive order on cybersecurity all require encryption.
- Data and Software integrity. Ensuring the firmware in OT systems is safe and free of corruption is crucial to avoid software supply chain attacks. PKI provides an effective means of verifying firmware authenticity and integrity through code signing. OT firmware suppliers can use PKI to digitally sign the firmware they are releasing to help organizations verify the identity of the supplier and confirm that the received firmware hasn’t been altered since its signing. This enables secure boot and protects OT systems from attacks.
SecureG’s PKI solution provides easy (and sustainable) scalability in terms of certificate numbers and service deployment, and it runs on public SaaS cloud infrastructure or private networks for on-premises environments. The PKI solution is future-proof and designed to evolve to meet future security needs like changing encryption algorithms. It provides flexible creation and management of Subordinate CA to allow the support of multiple business segments and environments.
SecureG’s customer-specific private PKI system for securing OT environments is the best cost-benefit option for securing OT equipment. It is a must-have for the critical infrastructure market. Contact SecureG today to get started securing your OT product line.
Industrial customers are demanding security solutions from their Operational Technology (OT) vendors due to the increasing number of security breaches and the risks associated with them. According to Trend Micro’s 2022 Industrial Cybersecurity report, industrial customers were disrupted at least six times in the past year, at an average cost of $2.8 million per incident. This has led to a tangible financial and reputational impact on businesses. OT equipment vendors need to respond to customer demand for better security while still delivering competitively priced solutions.
The top drivers leading to customer action are:
- Security audits and penetration tests revealing vulnerabilities,
- Experience with a recent breach leading to a board mandate to prevent future incidents,
- Requests from customers and partners, and
- Incidents at competitor sites.
PKI offers a cost-effective and scalable answer to these demands. OT OEMs can add a secure public key infrastructure (PKI) feature to their OT devices and upstream management servers. This will address the three fundamental issues causing the majority of incidents:
- Authentication for secure network access. By issuing unique identities in the form of digital certificates for every device it possible to authenticate them every time they request network access.
- Secure machine-to-machine communications. PKI helps safeguard data by providing end-to-end data encryption. This helps ensure the data stored in OT systems and the communication between IT and OT systems remain insulated from attacks. Encrypting communications also helps meet compliance requirements. Regulatory bodies, such as the NERC, FERC, NIST, and U.S. President Biden’s recent executive order on cybersecurity all require encryption.
- Data and Software integrity. Ensuring the firmware in OT systems is safe and free of corruption is crucial to avoid software supply chain attacks. PKI provides an effective means of verifying firmware authenticity and integrity through code signing. OT firmware suppliers can use PKI to digitally sign the firmware they are releasing to help organizations verify the identity of the supplier and confirm that the received firmware hasn’t been altered since its signing. This enables secure boot and protects OT systems from attacks.
PKI is highly flexible, time-tested over decades of use, and standardized for maximum security and interoperability.
SecureG provides a custom PKI system that that are purpose built for OEM OT systems. It delivers unique identities, securing the OT environment by putting identity-based security in every OT node. PKI is a must-have for securing operational technology, and it is cost-effective and flexible. Contact SecureG for more information on how a PKI can help you meet industrial customer demands for security.
Operational Technology (OT) is increasingly interconnected with information technology (IT) systems, expanding the attack surface. As a result, adversaries may exploit an IT access point or cloud vulnerability to break into internet-facing OT/Industrial Control Systems (ICS). Legacy perimeter-based security controls such as firewalls are no longer sufficient to protect OT systems against sophisticated attacks.
According to Trend Micro’s 2022 Industrial Cybersecurity report, industrial cybersecurity threats are becoming increasingly common and can have a significant financial and reputational impact on businesses. In the past 12 months, 72% of industrial customers were disrupted at least six times, at an average cost of $2.8 million per incident. These incidents can also lead to a loss of customer trust and brand reputation.
Fortunately, PKI is a low-cost, flexible, time-tested, and standardized solution that delivers on the three key capabilities necessary for OT system security: authentication, confidentiality, and integrity. By issuing unique identities in the form of digital certificates for every device and server in a customer system, PKI can authenticate endpoints before communicating with them, safeguard data by providing end-to-end data encryption, and prevent unauthorized changes to code or data. PKI ensures OT systems and data remain insulated from attacks, while also meeting compliance requirements.
OT environments present unique challenges for managing security, but PKI helps safeguard data by providing end-to-end data encryption, both at rest and in transit. Encrypting communications also helps meet compliance requirements. SecureG provides a customer-specific private PKI system that integrates with OEM OT devices and systems. It delivers unique identities for every device in a customer system.
PKI is also cost-effective and flexible. By adding PKI to devices, OT OEMs can deliver better security while delivering competitively priced solutions. It is also time-tested over decades of use and standardized for maximum security and interoperability. SecureG recognizes that every OEM is different, and partners with each of our customers to help design the security, policies, and procedures that make sense for their particular business.
PKI is future-proof and designed to evolve to meet future needs like changing encryption algorithms. It provides easy (and sustainable) scalability and can run on public SaaS cloud infrastructure or private networks for on-premises environments.
SecureG delivers a customer-specific private PKI system that integrates with OEM OT devices and systems, issuing unique identities for every device in a customer system and securing the overall OT environment. Contact SecureG today for more information on how you can satisfy customer demand for security in your OT solutions.
Industrial cybersecurity threats are becoming increasingly common and can have a significant financial and reputational impact on businesses. According to Trend Micro’s 2022 Industrial Cybersecurity report, 72% of industrial customers were disrupted at least 6 times in the past 12 months, at an average cost of $2.8 million per incident.
Operational Technology (OT) exploits are emerging as a significant threat to businesses today. As IT and OT environments become more interconnected, the attack surface expands, making it easier for adversaries to exploit vulnerabilities. Perimeter-based security controls such as firewalls are no longer enough to protect OT systems against sophisticated attacks. OT OEMs need to respond to customer needs in order to remain secure and competitive.
Public key infrastructure (PKI) is a low-cost, flexible, time-tested, and standardized solution that delivers on the three key capabilities necessary for OT system security: authentication, confidentiality, and integrity. PKI helps safeguard data by providing end-to-end data encryption, both at rest and in transit. It helps ensure data stored in OT systems and communication between IT and OT systems remain insulated from attacks. Encrypting communications also helps meet compliance requirements.
SecureG provides a customer-specific private PKI system that integrates with OEM OT devices and systems. It delivers unique identities to every device and server in a customer system. PKI is a must-have for securing operational technology, and it is cost-effective and flexible. By integrating PKI into IoT devices, OT OEMs deliver better security while maintaining competitively priced solutions.
Industrial cybersecurity threats are a significant concern for critical infrastructure, and OT exploits are becoming increasingly common. If you are thinking about how to add security to your OT product line, contact SecureG for help. We recognize that every OEM is different, and we partner with each of our customers to help design the security, policies, and procedures that make sense for your business.
