The flaw in the ICS system - the grave of the business

A recent large-scale study has shown the number of utopian gaps that exist in enterprise-level industrial control systems (Industrial Control Systems (ICS). These vulnerabilities are a bridge for hackers to deploy complex attacks on ICS devices, causing heavy damage to businesses. (ICS systems are widely used in oil and gas networks, power generation, refining and chemicals, papermaking, and mining industries.)

Specifically, according to a study conducted by PAS Global, more than 380,000 vulnerabilities have been found on ICS systems of 10,000 businesses worldwide. These holes can be exploited by malicious agents for a variety of purposes, from disrupting operations to physical damage.

Notably, the majority of these 380,000 vulnerabilities were found on system management software created by Microsoft. It also affects many different types of ICS, including human-machine interfaces (HMI), programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and distributed control systems ( distributed control systems - DCS). The vulnerability exploitation process (in most cases) only requires network access or basic privileges.

There are two main types of problems that are identified: common weakness, affecting a wide range of products and unique weaknesses, occurring only on a certain product.

So, what should enterprises do before this alarming situation? There are 3 things to do as follows:

1. Applying configuration management, especially to important systems and assets, is a way to prevent potential attacks.
2. Passive network monitoring, helping to capture traffic and abnormal behavior on the network, thereby offering appropriate responses.
3. The last and most important requirement: Pay attention to apply security patches to vulnerable devices.