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“ It ’ s fair to say that the stakes are high : a successful attack can put mining operations , equipment , data , and employees at risk ”
CHRIS GROVE DIRECTOR OF CYBER SECURITY STRATEGY , NOZOMI NETWORKS
large volumes of data to the equipment to overload its processor and render it inoperable ; again , the business plan is simply pay us to stop and go away ,” he explains .
The perfect cyber-threat storm For decades , mining companies relied on legacy industrial control systems ( ICS ) that kept them air-gapped from broader corporate IT systems . But , with mounting pressure to improve profitability through operational efficiencies , organisations have embraced Industrial Internet of Things ( IIoT ) technologies .
Chris Grove , Director at Nozomi Networks Cybersecurity Strategy , believes that the integration of IoT devices into control systems – and the subsequent connection of once-isolated operational systems with a mine ’ s entire enterprise network – leaves entire operations open to cyber threats .
“ In a recent information security survey , 54 % of mining and metals companies suffered a significant cybersecurity incident . Threat actors know that exploiting one weak spot in a mine operator ’ s IT system can often deliver access to the entire IT / OT network . Attackers are now taking advantage of the cybersecurity gaps present at many mines .
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