ASSET HARDENING – WELCOME TO CNB TELECOM

OT ASSET HARDENING

Reduce security risk by eliminating potential attack vectors across your OT environment.

OT Asset Hardening Overview

Asset Hardening, also known as “System Hardening,” encompasses a collection of tools, techniques, and best practices aimed at reducing vulnerabilities in technology applications, systems, infrastructure, firmware, and other areas (e.g., physical access).

Our Operational Technology (OT) Asset Hardening service aims to reduce security risks by eliminating potential attack vectors and minimizing the environment’s attack surface. By removing unnecessary programs, user accounts, functionalities, connectivity, ports, permissions, physical access, etc., it becomes more challenging for malicious attackers and malware to gain access to your OT environment.

Asset Hardening requires a systematic approach to audit, identify, remove, and control potential security vulnerabilities throughout your OT environment. Our OT Asset Hardening service includes:

Application hardening
Operating System (OS) hardening
Server hardening
Endpoint hardening
Database hardening
Network hardening

While the principles of Asset Hardening are universal across both OT/IT environments, specific tools and techniques vary depending on the type of hardening being performed and the OT assets being hardened. It is crucial to consider how the OT assets are used in day-to-day operations, as removing functionalities without proper review and analysis can lead to unexpected issues and system behavior.

Asset Hardening is essential throughout the lifecycle of OT assets, from initial installation, through configuration, maintenance and support, to end-of-life decommissioning. It is also a requirement of regulatory mandates and is increasingly demanded by cyber insurers.

Why Conduct OT Asset Hardening?

OT Asset Hardening is crucial for cyber security for several reasons:

Inherent Vulnerabilities: Many OT assets and their supporting network infrastructure were not designed with security in mind, making them more susceptible to both malicious and non-malicious cyber threats.
Patch Management Challenges: Regular software patching of OT assets can be difficult, necessitating alternative compensating controls to ensure security.
Lifecycle Security Deterioration: Systems initially commissioned as secure can become less secure over time due to changes made throughout their operational lifecycle.
IT-Standard Software Deployment: Often, organisations deploy assets within OT environments with IT-standard software and/or configurations, which may be unnecessary and potentially increase risk exposure by expanding the cyber attack surface.
Lack of Directory Services Integration: Many OT assets are not connected to directory services (e.g., Active Directory) and lack standardized policies required for security management, enforcement, and auditing.

Conducting OT Asset Hardening requires a deep understanding of industrial assets, systems, and the processes they manage. Policies and settings effective in IT environments can create operational reliability issues in OT. Therefore, it is essential that those performing OT Asset Hardening activities are experienced and trained in the complexities and nuances of OT.

CNB’s extensive experience across various OT vendors and industries enables us to effectively harden assets while maintaining operational availability and reliability. Documentation alone cannot cover all potential implications of hardening configuration settings in a specific way or the reasons certain services or user accounts exist. It is through years of working with OT assets that one learns what is feasible and pragmatic when it comes to Asset Hardening.

We partner with our clients to accelerate their OT cyber security maturity through our Asset Hardening service. Using best-in-class vulnerability assessment tools and our deep industry experience, we rapidly improve the risk exposure of their OT environments.

Key Benefits of OT Asset Hardening

Enhanced OT Asset/System Functionality: Reduced applications and functionality mean fewer operational issues, misconfigurations, incompatibilities, and potential malicious compromises.
Significantly Improved Security: A reduced attack surface lowers the risk of data breaches, unauthorized access, system hacking, misuse, or malware, thereby enhancing operational resilience and maximizing the availability and integrity of your OT environment.
Simplified Compliance and Audit Demands: Fewer applications and user accounts, coupled with a less complex environment, make auditing the OT environment more transparent and straightforward.

Deliverables from our OT Asset Hardening Service

We provide consultation and expertise to secure and harden your OT environments, typically including:

High-level vulnerability assessment
Analysis of the current situation using trusted tools, our expertise, and industry best practices
Establishment of current security posture and remediation roadmap
Patching and risk reduction recommendations/plans

We also offer proactive consultation for OT environments still in the planning or project phases.

What is Operating System Hardening?

The practice of minimising the attack surface of a computer system or server. The goal is to reduce the number of security weaknesses and vulnerabilities that threat actors can exploit.

What is Asset Hardening?

Asset hardening refers to the process of improving the security of an asset or system by making it more resistant to various types of attacks and threats. This can be done through a variety of techniques, such as implementing physical security measures, using stronger passwords and authentication protocols, installing software updates and patches, and limiting access to sensitive information. Asset hardening is often used in the context of cybersecurity, where it is used to protect computer systems, networks, and other digital assets from hackers, viruses, and other types of malicious attacks. By hardening assets, organisations can reduce the risk of cyberattacks, minimise the impact of any attacks that do occur, and ensure that critical data and systems remain secure and operational. In addition to digital assets, asset hardening can also be applied to physical assets, such as buildings, vehicles, and other infrastructure. This can include measures such as reinforced walls and doors, surveillance cameras, alarms, and other security features designed to prevent theft, vandalism, and other types of physical attacks.

Why is Asset Hardening Important?

Asset hardening is important for several reasons: Protection against cyberattacks: With the increasing prevalence of cyberattacks, it is crucial for organisations to harden their assets to prevent unauthorised access, data theft, and other forms of cybercrime. By implementing various security measures, organisations can reduce the risk of cyberattacks and protect their critical assets. Compliance with regulations: Many industries, such as healthcare and finance, are subject to strict regulations that require them to implement certain security measures to protect sensitive data. Asset hardening can help organisations comply with these regulations and avoid penalties for non-compliance. Business continuity: Hardening assets can help ensure that critical systems remain operational in the event of an attack or other disruptive event. By reducing the risk of downtime and data loss, organisations can maintain business continuity and minimise the impact of any security incidents. Reputation management: Security incidents can damage an organisation’s reputation and erode customer trust. By hardening assets, organisations can demonstrate their commitment to security and protect their reputation in the event of a security breach. Overall, asset hardening is an essential aspect of modern cybersecurity and is critical for protecting assets from a wide range of threats, including cyberattacks, theft, and vandalism.

How do you Harden an Asset?

You harden an Asset by reducing its “attack surface,” which is the combination of all the potential flaws and backdoors in technology that can be exploited by threat actors. These vulnerabilities can occur in many ways. Common attack surface vulnerabilities include:

Default passwords.
Hardcoded passwords and other credentials stored in plain text files.
Unpatched software and firmware vulnerabilities
Lack, or deficiency, of privileged access controls.
Poorly configured BIOS, firewalls, ports, servers, switches, routers, or other parts of the infrastructure.
Unencrypted, or inadequately encrypted, network traffic or data at rest.

What are the Benefits of Asset Hardening

While system hardening requires a large, continuous effort, it provides substantial benefits for organisations. Here are several notable benefits:

A higher level of security—the main purpose of system hardening techniques and tools is to reduce the attack surface. This translates into a significantly lower risk of malware, unauthorised access, data breaches, or other malicious activity.
Better system functionality—system hardening best practices often involve reducing the number of programs and functionality. This translates into fewer operational issues, reduced chance of misconfiguration which can affect user operations, fewer incompatibilities, and also reduced chance of cyber attacks, which in themselves hurt user functionality.
Simplified compliance and auditing—system hardening techniques can help turn a complex environment into a simpler one with fewer programs and accounts, and stable, predictable configuration. This translates into a more straightforward and transparent environment which is simpler to monitor and audit.

Is "OT Asset Hardening" the Same as "ICS Asset Hardening"?

OT (Operational Technology) asset hardening and ICS (Industrial Control Systems) asset hardening are related concepts. Both OT and ICS asset hardening focus on improving the security of digital assets, such as industrial control systems, SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems, and other software applications that are used to control and monitor industrial processes. This can involve implementing various security measures, such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and encryption, to prevent unauthorised access, data breaches, and other types of cyberattacks. Also considered are all physical assets, such as machinery, equipment, and other infrastructure, that are used to control and monitor various industrial processes. This can involve implementing physical security measures, such as surveillance cameras, access controls, and perimeter fencing, to prevent unauthorised access and protect the equipment from damage or tampering. OT / ICS asset hardening is important for protecting industrial processes and infrastructure from various threats. Many organisations use a combination of physical and digital security measures to harden their assets and minimise the risk of security incidents.

What is CIS Benchmark for Hardening?

CIS benchmarks are configuration baselines and best practices for securely configuring a system. Each of the guidance recommendations references one or more CIS controls that were developed to help organisations improve their cyber defence capabilities.

OT ASSET HARDENING

OT Asset Hardening Overview

Why Conduct OT Asset Hardening?

Key Benefits of OT Asset Hardening

Deliverables from our OT Asset Hardening Service

What is Operating System Hardening?

What is Asset Hardening?

Why is Asset Hardening Important?

How do you Harden an Asset?

What are the Benefits of Asset Hardening

Is "OT Asset Hardening" the Same as "ICS Asset Hardening"?

What is CIS Benchmark for Hardening?

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