IoT deployments driving calls for better digital security

Critical infrastructures are radically transforming on an unprecedented scale, boosted by a rapid adoption of ‘smart’ operational technologies. Cybersecurity is a growing part of that evolution. ABI Research forecasts security spending for the protection of critical infrastructures will hit $125 billion globally by 2023. Three primary drivers are pushing better digital security in sectors such as utilities, transport, and healthcare: digital transformation and increased connectivity of operational technologies; democratisation of cyber attacks targeting critical infrastructure; and a maturing market for industrial and IoT security. “Connected OT has enabled optimization and greater efficiency for decades-old legacy systems, cutting costs and vastly improving operations for operators,” said Michela Menting, Research Director at ABI Research. But it has also introduced new vulnerabilities and opened new threat vectors to previously air-gapped technologies. The first specialized attacks against industrial control systems are over a decade old, and the attack tools and methods are accessible to even the most common cybercriminals.