The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recently offered guidance on two key issues impact OT cybersecurity. The first was in conjunction with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) about hosting a live webinar on Jan. 23, to walk through the initial public draft of Interagency Report 8587, Protecting Tokens and Assertions from Forgery, Theft, and Misuse.
During the webinar, the Report’s authors will walk through key implementation guidance aimed at federal agencies and cloud service providers (CSPs) to secure identity tokens and assertions against forgery, theft, and misuse. This information is especially relevant for identity and access management professionals, as it addresses critical vulnerabilities in modern cloud and federated identity systems.
Second, CISA and the UK National Cyber Security Centre, in collaboration with other federal and international partners, have released Secure Connectivity Principles for Operational Technology (OT) guidance to help asset owners address increasing business and regulatory pressures for connectivity into operational technology (OT) networks.
OT network environments are now more interconnected than before, offering benefits such as real-time analytics, remote monitoring and administration, and predictive maintenance. At the same time, they become more vulnerable to risks.
This guidance provides owners and operators with eight principles to use as a framework to design, secure, and manage connectivity into OT environments. These principles are particularly critical for operators of essential services.
The principles include:
- Balance the risks and opportunities
- Limit the exposure of your connectivity
- Centralize and standardize network connections
- Use standardized and secure protocols
- Harden your OT boundary
- Limit the impact of compromise
- Ensure all connectivity is logged and monitored
- Establish an isolation plan
More information about these and other CISA resources can be found at cisa.gov.
