TECHNOLOGY
THE LAST FEW years has seen an influx in technological advances for the mining industry . Companies like Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton are leveraging innovative equipment such as autonomous vehicles and simulation technology to their advantage .
However , the one emerging problem no one is paying attention to is breach of information .
In 2013 Ernst & Young Global Limited conducted a Global Information Security Survey and found almost 41 percent of the mining and metals respondents experienced an increase in external threats over the past 12 months . Not to mention , 28 percent
Rio Tinto work with industry leading technologists experienced an increase in internal vulnerabilities over the same period .
Cyber hacking and breach of information has become one of the biggest concerns to the mining and metals sector . The threat , believe it or not , is real .
“ On a scale of one to 10 , we saw examples at nine , and examples at one . SCADA [ the protocol used by large-scale industrial control systems ] is an example where a lot of organizations don ’ t even understand that it ’ s IT ,” said Mike Rothery , first assistant secretary in the National Security Resilience Policy Division of the Attorney-General ’ s Department , and secretary to the government ’ s Cyber Security Operations Board .
The industry , which boasts one of the largest cash flows on investments , has the least developed understandings of managing IT security risks – and it shows .
According to a recent report by ZDNet , discussion between the Australian government and the mining industry has exposed the sector as a spotty security landscape .
“ I ’ ve certainly had some discussions with CIOs of utilities who show me their map of their IT environment ,
28 O ctober 2014