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Industrial firms ‘slow in adopting cyber security steps’

DUBAI, December 11, 2017

Industrial companies are not moving quickly to adopt cyber security measures to protect their data and operations, even as attacks have increased around the globe, said a new report from Honeywell, a global technology leader.

The survey – Putting Industrial Cyber Security at the Top of the CEO Agenda – was conducted by LNS Research, a global leader in research and advisory for digital transformation of industry, and sponsored by Honeywell.

It polled 130 strategic decision makers from industrial companies about their approach to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and their use of industrial cyber security technologies and practices. Among the findings were:

•    More than half of respondents reported working in an industrial facility that already has had a cyber security breach.

•    45 per cent of the responding companies still do not have an accountable enterprise leader for cyber security.

•    Only 37 per cent are monitoring for suspicious behaviour.

•    Although many companies are conducting regular risk assessments, 20 per cent are not doing them at all.

“Decision makers are more aware of threats and some progress has been made to address them, but this report reinforces that cyber security fundamentals haven’t been adopted by a significant portion of the industrial community,” said Safdar Akhtar, business development director, Industrial Cyber Security for EMEA at Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS).

“In order to take advantage of the tremendous benefits of industrial digital transformation and IIoT, companies must improve their cyber security defences and adapt to the heightened threat landscape now.”

The study suggests these three immediate actions for any industrial organization to capture the value of the new technologies:

1.    Making industrial cyber security part of digital transformation strategies;

2.    Driving best practice adoption across people, processes and technology, from access controls to risk monitoring, and tap external cyber expertise to fill gaps

3.    Focusing on empowering leaders and building an organizational structure that breaks down the silos between IT and OT.

“Cyber security needs to be part of every CEO’s agenda to ensure the effective, immediate and long-term deployment of strategies and technologies such as IIoT,” said Matthew Littlefield, president and principal analyst, LNS Research. “In short, in order for a business to succeed on its digital transformation journey, it needs to succeed with industrial cyber security.” – TradeArabia News Service




Tags: industrial | Honeywell | Cyber Security |

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