3 Key Takeaways From Fortinet’s Operational Technology Cybersecurity Virtual Conference

This event provided MSPs, MSSPs and IT teams with the opportunity to exchange advice, insights and case studies about the convergence of cybersecurity across IT and OT networks.

According to the 2022 Fortinet State of Operational Technology and Cybersecurity Report, 61 percent of cyberattacks impacted OT environments, and just 13 percent of organizations have centralized visibility of all OT activities. So, it’s no surprise that security leaders from around the globe tuned into Fortinet’s Operational Technology Cybersecurity Conference on March 28 with the goal of enhancing their organizations’ OT security environments.

This event provided MSPs, MSSPs and IT teams with the opportunity to exchange advice, insights and case studies about the convergence of cybersecurity across IT and OT networks from the production facility to the board room. Industry thought leaders from Schneider Electric, Ampere Industrial Security, Siemens and Fortinet also discussed how they are prioritizing security in their client installs and projects.

3 Key Conference Takeaways

1. Minimize risk exposure in your digital transformation journey.

During his keynote address, Patrick Miller of Ampere Industrial Security emphasized the importance of aligning your cybersecurity strategy with a clearly defined risk model. Miller outlined market trends that are impacting the risk equations for industrial organizations. He also emphasized the importance of implementing an evolving cybersecurity model that integrates people, process and technology to minimize risk.

2. Identify, respond and patch threats faster with threat intelligence.

Fortinet’s Roderick Locke discussed the security challenges that stem from digital transformation in industrial environments. He also shared ways in which organizations can leverage threat intelligence to bolster their security postures including:

• Enhancing threat detection capabilities
• Prioritizing risks
• Accelerating incident response
• Proactively manage patches
• Making informed, data-driven security decisions

3. Apply application control signatures to reduce the attack surface for ICS and OT.

Locke also discussed the use of application control signatures as an effective, proactive means of securing your networks. Application control signatures are designed to detect and prevent unauthorized applications, malware and other threats from running on a network. They also provide additional security benefits including:

• Reduced Attack Surface
• Application control signatures restrict the applications that can execute within an IT environment, effectively reducing an organization’s attack surface. This limits potential entry points for cybercriminals, making it more challenging to compromise your clients’ systems.
• Better Visibility and Control
• Application control signatures also provide security leaders with greater visibility into the software and processes running on their systems. This increased transparency allows security teams to monitor for anomalies, identify potential risks and address security threats more effectively.
• Improved Compliance. Implementing application control signatures helps security leaders ensure compliance with regulatory standards and industry-specific requirements over the applications running in their IT environments.

If you missed this conference or want to replay the sessions, you can view the event on-demand here.