"In operational technology, a single undetected breach can cause catastrophic infrastructure failure. Preemptive defense is not a luxury—it's an absolute necessity."
-Sarah Lindholm, Principal Analyst, Gartner Research
Those of us who are involved in ensuring the security of organizations’ operational technology often feel like we are at war against a stealthy and formidable foe.
Whether the analogies lean towards business, or toward sports or even toward military examples, there are familiar quotes that ring true:
"Insights are currency, action is investment."
"Understand the opponent's playbook to rewrite the rules."
"Intelligence is the cornerstone of victory before conflict begins."
These quotes all emphasize the critical principle of not just gathering intelligence, but transforming those insights into concrete, immediate defensive actions to neutralize potential threats. So, let’s look at the evolving threat landscape in OT environments, and discuss the increasing sophistication of attacks, the convergence of IT and OT networks, and the growing attack surface due to IoT and Industry 4.0. And then, talk about the future of preemptive defense in OT security; what does your cybersecurity implementation look like?
"The complexity of modern cyber-physical systems demands an anticipatory security approach. We are no longer playing defense; we are strategically neutralizing potential threats before they emerge."
- Dr. James Wu, Director of Cybersecurity Research, MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Security teams are battling to translate complex vulnerability data into concrete actions, leading to lengthy remediation cycles that leave critical operations exposed to attack. Why is this happening now? Three key reasons:
Cyber threats against operational technology are more complex than ever. Living off the Land (LOTL) tactics - where attackers exploit legitimate system tools like PowerShell, WMI, and built-in Windows utilities - allow threat actors to traverse from IT environments to industrial control systems while evading detection. These attacks often exploit vulnerabilities and can go undetected for long periods. Criminal and state-sponsored threat actors are increasingly targeting critical infrastructure through sophisticated campaigns that layer multiple attack vectors - from social engineering and supply chain compromises to custom-built malware designed specifically for industrial systems.
There were two ICS/OT specific malware discoveries recently that we’d like to examine as examples.
PIPEDREAM is the seventh known industrial control system (ICS)-specific malware, developed by the CHERNOVITE Activity Group (AG). PIPEDREAM is a modular ICS attack framework that an adversary could leverage to cause disruption, degradation, and possibly even destruction depending on targets and the environment.
Our friends at Dragos identified and analyzed PIPEDREAM’s capabilities through their normal business, independent research, and collaboration with various partners in early 2022. Dragos assesses with high confidence that PIPEDREAM has not yet been employed in the wild for destructive effects.
Dragos also discovered the FrostyGoop ICS Malware, in April 2024. FrostyGoop is the ninth known ICS malware. This malware can interact directly with industrial control systems (ICS) in operational technology (OT) environments using the Modbus protocol, a standard ICS protocol used across all industrial sectors and organizations worldwide.
Additionally, the Cyber Security Situation Center (CSSC), a part of the Security Service of Ukraine (Служба безпеки України), shared details with Dragos about a disruptive cyber attack on a district energy company in Ukraine, which resulted in a two-day loss of heating to customers. The adversaries sent Modbus commands to ENCO controllers, causing inaccurate measurements and system malfunctions – taking almost two days to remediate the issues. Dragos assesses that FrostyGoop was likely used in this attack.
So, we know that sophisticated groups are increasingly focused on critical infrastructure, using multi-stage attacks that combine social engineering, supply chain compromises, and advanced malware to breach systems.
The convergence of IT and OT networks, while beneficial for businesses, creates new security risks for OT systems that were not designed to handle IT-based threats. Organizations must now implement complex security strategies that address both IT and OT requirements.
The adoption of IoT and Industry 4.0 technologies has increased the vulnerability of industrial environments due to the lack of security in many new connected devices and the difficulty of integrating new and legacy systems.
Let’s stop here for a minute… What if you could transform this process by automatically generating prioritized remediation plans tailored to your industrial environment? A targeted approach like that would ensure your limited resources would be focused on the fixes that matter most, significantly reducing the time from discovery to remediation. Wouldn’t you agree?
"Intelligence without action is just information."
Given the picture we just painted of the OT Security landscape, it seems reasonable to want to look at how one can take proactive security measures to minimize threats and attacks.
Being prepared in this case requires a proactive approach to cybersecurity that anticipates and neutralizes potential threats before they can cause damage to critical infrastructure and industrial control systems. But what does that look like?
We believe there are four key objectives essential for proactively protecting critical infrastructure:
The foundation of an effective proactive defense strategy lies in the systematic collection, analysis, and operationalization of threat intelligence. Critical infrastructure organizations must develop robust intelligence gathering capabilities that extend beyond traditional indicator sharing to encompass comprehensive understanding of adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs).
The effectiveness of any proactive defense strategy ultimately depends on its ability to withstand real-world attacks. Attack path validation through simulation provides organizations with a structured methodology to identify and remediate potential vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by adversaries. This approach combines rigorous analysis with practical testing to ensure that defensive measures are both comprehensive and effective.
While traditional penetration testing provides valuable insights into security posture, the dynamic nature of modern threats demands a more continuous and automated approach to security validation. Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) addresses this need by providing organizations with automated, consistent, and repeatable testing capabilities that can be executed.
The successful execution of a proactive defense framework ultimately depends on the effective implementation and continuous validation of security controls. While previous sections outlined the intelligence gathering and testing methodologies necessary to identify security requirements, this section focuses on the practical aspects of deploying and maintaining defensive measures within critical infrastructure environments.
This framework presents a comprehensive approach to proactive defense, moving beyond traditional reactive security measures to implement an intelligence-driven security strategy that anticipates and prevents threats before they materialize.
Read this White Paper to understand this framework in-depth
By shifting from a reactive to a proactive security posture, organizations can identify and prevent cyberthreats before they impact operations. It’s as simple as that.
What we are looking at here is really a paradigm shift from traditional reactive security measures to an intelligent, anticipatory preemptive defense ecosystem. This evolution will be reliant on the convergence of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation technologies working in concert to predict and neutralize threats before they materialize.
"The future of operational technology security is predictive, not reactive. We must move from a mindset of incident response to incident prevention."
- Marcus Chen, Former Chief Information Security Officer, Industrial Cybersecurity Consortium"
In other words, we need to figure out how to use technology to safeguard us from… technology.
When we decide to shift to this model of preemptive defense, traditional reactive security approaches are no longer sufficient. Organizations must adopt a proactive stance, anticipating and mitigating threats before they can cause damage. Technology plays a pivotal role in enabling this shift, providing the security assessment tools and capabilities to identify, assess, and neutralize potential vulnerabilities before they are exploited.
Artificial Intelligence Integration
Advanced AI algorithms will continuously analyze vast amounts of operational data to detect subtle anomalies and potential attack vectors, while machine learning systems will adapt and evolve based on emerging threat patterns, enabling real-time risk assessment and automated response protocols.
AI will transform OT security from reactive to anticipatory defense mechanisms. Advanced neural networks will enable real-time threat detection and prediction. AI systems will continuously learn and adapt to emerging cyber threat landscapes.
Machine Learning Applications
Behavioral anomaly detection in industrial control systems will be huge, as will be predictive vulnerability mapping. We are also going to see more advanced threat pattern recognition across complex network infrastructures, along with automated risk scoring and prioritization of potential security vulnerabilities.
Automation Technologies
This is where things get super interesting: Self-healing network architectures? Yes. Autonomous incident response protocols? Absolutely. Intelligent threat containment and isolation mechanisms, and continuous security configuration optimization? For sure.
For some organizations, this may sound like futuristic science-fiction, but have no doubt, this is the future of OT Security.
“Intelligence is the Cornerstone of Victory Before Conflict Begins”
This transformation towards preemptive defense will be essential in safeguarding industrial control systems and operational technologies against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, ensuring operational resilience while maintaining continuous system availability and integrity.
And, let’s not forget that preemptive defense is not restricted to those with kinetic expectations – there's so much to gain from taking a proactive risk and threat based defense.
At Frenos, we view the OT Security function in a way that aligns with the transformation we’ve been talking about. Using an autonomous OT Security assessment platform that assesses your OT/IT environment helps you prioritize options so you can defend your operations.
Imagine a platform that automatically generates multiple remediation strategies, enabling your team to choose and implement the most effective ways to eliminate critical risks faster.
This comprehensive approach is how strategically leveraging technology can transform proactive security measures. It represents a paradigm shift from reactive to preemptive security models, particularly crucial in protecting critical infrastructure, industrial control systems, and mission critical environments.
"Continuing with the same strategies and expecting different outcomes is a low-probability success strategy."
-Adm. Michael Rodgers, Munich Cyber Security Conference, Feb. 2024https://therecord.media/former-nsa-chief-alternative-approach-cyber
Can your organization turn threat, vulnerability, and adversary insights into immediate action? Find out more about the Frenos solution.