Latest research details the unique business-critical threats facing converged IT-OT systems

HONGKONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - April8, 2019 - TrendMicro Incorporated(TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, has announceda new research that demonstrates the threats facing manufacturing networksstill running outdated technology, including risks to intellectual property andproduction processes.

The report, Securing Smart Factories: Threats to Manufacturing Environments in the Era of Industry 4.0, outlines the security dimension of a new era for manufacturing driven by IoT and connectivity everywhere. Manufacturers are heavily investing in the convergence of traditional operational technology (OT) with IT networks in 2019, adding new technology to environments that are still vulnerable to more than 10-year-old issues, like Conficker.

"Industry 4.0 offers unparalleled opportunities toincrease productivity, enhance process efficiencies,and realize on-demand manufacturing, but it also dramatically alters the threatrisk model for these facilities," said Steve Quane, Executive Vice President, Network Defense and Hybrid Cloud Security for Trend Micro. "As this research outlines, theconvergence of IT and OT could unwittingly have a serious impact on productionlines, and could lead to the loss of IP and competitive advantage. Trend Microwill continue to support the industry by providing innovative AI-drivensolutions to protect business critical dataand processes across the connected world."

The report highlights the uniquetriple threat facing manufacturing, including the risks associated with IT, OTand IP. Previously isolated operations networks are being connected to the ITnetwork to drive efficiencies, but this exposes insecure proprietary protocolsand potentially decades-old OT equipment that is often not patched frequentlyenough because of its criticality. There is a harsh disparity between thesignificant operations performed by these devices and the fact that theyoperate for years with known vulnerabilities.

According to Gartner[1],"OT networks and assets, and their security implications, were undiscovered andunmanaged for many years. As a result, current OT networks are unsegmented witha mix of production protocols, unidentified assets, legacy systems and devices.These industrial components have many unsecure communication channels tocorporate/IT networks, and they utilize different vendor architectures andsecurity standards."

In addition to maintaining legacyinfrastructure with known weaknesses, new vulnerabilities are being discoveredmore frequently than ever before in these systems. Zero-day vulnerabilitiespurchased in human-machine interfaces (HMIs) of industrial control systemsincreased by more than 200 percent in 2018 compared to the previous year.

Manufacturers are thus exposed to bothtargeted and commodity malware, including cryptocurrency mining attacks thatcould harm key production processes by consuming processing power and causingnetwork latency. Ransomware is also a major threat to manufacturers if theattack affects production.

To help mitigate the impact ofIndustry 4.0 threats, Trend Micro recommends manufacturers remember the basicsof cybersecurity, such as restricting user access and disabling directorylistings, as well as identifying and prioritizing key assets to protect.

To find outmore, read the complete report: https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/hk/security/news/internet-of-things/security-in-the-era-of-industry-4-dealing-with-threats-to-smart-manufacturing-environments.  

About Trend Micro

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecuritysolutions, helps to make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Ourinnovative solutions for consumers, businesses, and governments provide layeredsecurity for data centers, cloud environments, networks, and endpoints. All ourproducts work together to seamlessly share threat intelligence and provide aconnected threat defense with centralized visibility and control, enablingbetter, faster protection. With more than 6,000 employees in over 50 countriesand the world's most advanced global threat intelligence, Trend Micro enablesorganizations to secure their journey to the cloud. For more information,visit www.trendmicro.com.hk.