Why Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Must Improve

Cybercrime has become increasingly rampant as more organizations embrace digitization. While this shift affects virtually every industry, some sectors face more pressure to improve their security than others. Critical infrastructure cybersecurity is the most extreme example.

Why Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Deserves Attention

The nation’s power, water and similar critical sectors have all implemented Industry 4.0 technologies over the past few years. While innovations like the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) produce needed efficiency and reliability improvements, they also introduce new risks.

Rising Industry 4.0 adoption means infrastructure that was once air-gapped is now vulnerable to hacking. The nature of these systems means an attack could cause widespread damage, too. Power grid problems have caused billions of dollars in property damage and dozens of deaths in the past, highlighting the severity of a potential attack.

Cyberattacks against critical infrastructure can still be severe outside of these extremes. As AI and the IoT gather more data on citizens’ utility usage, a single breach in these systems could expose huge amounts of sensitive information.

These concerns are more concerning in light of the growing trend of cyberterrorism and nation-state-backed attacks. Iranian hackers compromised an Israeli nuclear facility in March of 2024, and cyberattacks have played a central role in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

How Secure Is Critical Infrastructure Today?

The need for better critical infrastructure cybersecurity is all the more pressing when considering its current state. Many organizations in these sectors have embraced potentially vulnerable technologies faster than they’ve updated their security standards.

In 2023 alone, the FBI received 1,193 reports on ransomware incidents targeting organizations in critical infrastructure sectors. These attacks hit 14 of all 16 critical industries and accounted for almost half of all ransomware complaints that year. More concerningly, all of these sectors experienced more than one such incident.

The success of these attacks suggests that critical infrastructure security is not where it should be. A recent Homeland Security report also found that threat actors have started using AI to improve their attacks, making them harder to defend against. Consequently, what counts as reliable security today may quickly become outdated, so ongoing improvements are necessary.

How to Improve Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity

Thankfully, there is a clear path forward. Here are some steps critical infrastructure organizations can follow to improve their security in response to growing threats.

1. Quantify Risks

The first measure in improving critical infrastructure cybersecurity is to identify and quantify relevant cyberthreats. Organizations cannot protect against what they don’t understand, and assigning risk scores to various threats will make it easier to prioritize certain strategies.

This step begins with closer collaboration between private companies and government cybersecurity authorities. A government accountability office survey found that 13 of the 14 relevant agencies in this area struggle to share cyberthreat information due to limited resources and issues around classified data. Government standards should evolve and private organizations should adopt multiple data-sharing techniques to overcome these barriers.

When private and public organizations can share cybersecurity trends more efficiently, they can see which threats pose the biggest risks and which protections are most effective. This insight will inform better security practices.

2. Address IoT Vulnerabilities

Next, critical infrastructure organizations must turn their attention to the IoT. While smart devices are not the only vulnerabilities in these networks, they’re often among the most pressing. The threat of lateral movement between such endpoints and a lack of strong built-in defenses make the IoT a prime target for cybercriminals.

Segmenting networks so IoT devices are separate from other, more sensitive endpoints and data will prevent lateral movement. Utility organizations should also turn off unused connectivity features and change default passwords to stronger, unique alternatives. Similarly, multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a must.

Other features to consider include secure over-the-air update protocols and data encryption. As the FCC’s IoT cybersecurity labeling program takes effect, businesses should look for these labels to verify their IoT providers’ trustworthiness. 

3. Capitalize on AI

Critical sectors’ use of AI may introduce risks relating to bias, data poisoning and privacy breaches. However, AI is also an essential security tool when organizations implement it effectively.

Most importantly, AI enables real-time, around-the-clock network monitoring. Infrastructure organizations can use this technology to automatically detect and contain breaches when they occur. AI’s speed and accuracy in this area have saved companies $1.76 million on average and could yield even higher savings in critical sectors.

Other AI security applications include automated penetration testing and behavioral biometrics. These advanced protections are crucial as threat actors embrace their own AI solutions. Still, businesses must secure their AI training databases and ensure explainability to minimize the related risks.

4. Create Strong Backup and Recovery Processes

Proactive security steps are the most important part of critical infrastructure security, but these industries must not overlook emergency planning, either. The fact of the matter is attacks are too frequent and growing too sophisticated for preventive measures to be 100% effective. 

Critical infrastructure also must streamline the recovery process and minimize damage after a successful attack. That means keeping backups of all mission-critical data and ensuring you have backup power supplies to account for physical damage. These copies deserve as much security as primary files, as 94% of ransomware victims have reported attackers targeting their backups.

Similarly, organizations need a thorough, well-rehearsed plan for responding to various security incidents. These plans should include steps to restore backups, each team member’s responsibility and communication protocols.

5. Embrace Ongoing Optimization

Finally, both government agencies and private businesses should recognize that cybersecurity is an ongoing process. Threats evolve quickly, so protections must likewise adapt.

Critical infrastructure organizations must stay up-to-date on cybercrime trends and compare these developments to their current defense posture. Similarly, penetration testing is necessary at least twice a year to ensure these protections are still reliable. Without these steps, sensitive vulnerabilities may not be evident until it’s too late.

Critical Infrastructure Needs Better Security for a Safer Future

The nation’s critical infrastructure has avoided large-scale cyberattacks for the most part until now. However, that may change if these organizations do not update their cybersecurity practices. Cybercriminals are targeting these sectors with increasing frequency and severity, so something must change before long.

As the government pays more attention to these threats, standards will rise. Before then, critical infrastructure organizations can follow these steps to improve their security posture.