Inmarsat survey of senior IT decision makers from 100 large energy companies worldwide shows that fifty four percent need additional security skills to deliver successful IoT projects. Fifty three percent need to make significant investments to fulfill requirements.
Other findings include-
Only two percent mentioned that IoT do not create new challenges
Thirty percent said they have given special consideration for IoT in security apparatus
Fifty nine percent mentioned that their board has insufficient knowledge of IoT
“The core operations of energy companies have traditionally been insulated from the destructive cyber attacks that have destablized other industries, as they were not connected to the Internet,” Inmarsat senior director for energy Chuck Moseley said in a statement. “But with the advent of IoT, more and more parts of their infrastructure are being connected, creating new vulnerabilities and risks.”
“Worryingly, our research shows that many energy businesses lack the security processes and skills to address these new vulnerabilities,” Moseley added. “This needs to be quickly addressed, and it must be driven by senior leadership within energy businesses, to ensure that they do not miss out on the huge potential value that IoT can bring to the energy sector.”
Another survey conducted by CyberX study of 375 industrial networks worldwide shows that thirty one percent are connected to the public Internet. Seventy six percent are running outdated and unpatchable operating systems like Windows XP and Windows 2000.
“Most of these ICS/SCADA sites were built years ago, long before the proliferation of Internet connectivity and the need for real-time intelligence,” the report states. “The key priorities were performance and reliability rather than security.”
“We don’t want to be cyber Cassandras — and this isn’t about creating FUD — but we think business leaders should have a realistic, data-driven view of the current risk and what can be done about it,” CyberX CEO and co-founder Omer Schneider said in a statement.
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