Eaton has launched a new whitepaper called ‘The importance of life cycle cybersecurity in mission-critical power infrastructure’.
The whitepaper explains how components such as switchgear, automatic transfer switches (ATS), uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), transformers, breakers, and protective devices – together with the programmable logic controllers (PLC) and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) switches, routers, and firewalls used to integrate them into an OT control and monitoring network – can form an attack surface from which cybercriminals can gain access to a business and interact illicitly with its systems.
The whitepaper explores what can be done to prevent this from happening by plugging security gaps and introducing regular monitoring and upgrade routines with signed software to guarantee authenticity. It includes a useful supply chain cybersecurity checklist.
Cybercriminals can enter a business IT system and attack all parts of it through a single weak link such as an office printer, ceiling lights or an electric vehicle charging point. The only way to prevent this is by auditing every component and introducing new routines to ensure that the cybersecurity measures protecting them, and the links between them, remain up to the task. Signed software to guarantee the authenticity of upgrades is crucial.
Mr. Ashraf Yehia, Managing Director of Eaton Middle East, said: “We have noticed how buildings owners and managers, and the FM and IT professionals who work for them, assume all entry points into their systems are covered when they may be open to attack. Our intense focus on cybersecurity means we are aware of those entry points and can offer solutions and advice. Defending the building in a unified way, and keeping up a continuous guard, is vital.”