OT and IT Data Sharing: How Can We Ensure a Secure and Resilient Industry 4.0?

Summary

While there may still be some debate about whether Industry 4.0 is truly distinct from Industry 3.0, the impact of rapid changes in technology over the past few years cannot be understated. The ability to create, collect, analyze and correlate information rapidly has fundamentally changed communications and interconnectivity, particularly when it comes to information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT). It allows organizations to increase automation, gather and analyze data faster and increase efficiency and responsiveness to customers.
 
This growing interconnectivity in critical infrastructure environments is resolving some challenges while simultaneously creating or exacerbating others. Innovative technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and advanced robotics, blur the lines between the physical and digital worlds, putting the pressure on organizations to ensure that these critical environments are well-secured and protected from cyberattacks and other operational disruptions.
 

IT and OT data sharing

Without question, connecting critical infrastructure systems to IT networks provides potential opportunities to improve operational efficiency by enabling real-time visibility and access to data from sensors and other Industrial Control Systems (ICS), allowing organizations to analyze data in real time. This enables rapid threat identification and response and could minimize potential damage or business disruption. However, simply connecting IT to critical OT networks can compromise security by enabling additional threat vectors. How can organizations balance the opportunity for operational efficiency with OT cybersecurity?
 
AI has the potential to make data sharing far simpler by creating a digital twin of a facility, helping organizations predict maintenance needs well in advance of failures. This digital twin can also allow operators to test different configurations, identify bottlenecks and optimize process parameters to increase overall efficiency. But, the question arises again - how do you securely replicate data to a twin without compromising the integrity of the OT environment? The benefits of interconnectivity and data sharing come with risks, including new attack vectors and types of security vulnerabilities.
 
Enforcing one-way communication can ensure data flows only from OT systems into IT systems, helping minimize vulnerabilities when providing critical data to the organization without introducing threats to the OT network. Replicating OT system data ensures that critical operational data remains accessible even if the IT system becomes unavailable or compromised. A one-way data transfer model is an important way to protect infrastructure from cyberattacks while still ensuring operational continuity and efficiency. Data transferred to the IT system can enable the secure monitoring of OT and physical cyber systems while still protecting the integrity and reliability of the OT data.
 

The rise of data diodes

Data diodes are unidirectional network communication hardware devices that safely enable one-way data transfer between segmented networks. It’s hard to believe that data diodes, first developed by governmental organizations in the 1980-90’s, play such a significant role today. Yet, data diodes are increasingly being adopted in various sectors, moving into the oil and gas industries, energy, manufacturing and beyond. In industries where network security is the highest priority, many of these sectors historically relied on air gaps to keep OT assets secure. However, as the quantity of transferable data has grown, so has the need for secure data transfer. Data diodes offer a continuous, near real-time data stream on hardware that includes important cybersecurity features.
 
More industries are considering moving to data diodes to avoid the configuration and maintenance issues that accompany firewalls. Diodes offer a “set it and forget it” option that’s appealing to cybersecurity professionals seeking secure and scalable solutions. Many security professionals were initially concerned about how the data diodes worked and whether it worked with individual networks, but over the last six years, familiarity with data diodes and understanding of how they can both isolate the network and increase operational efficiency has grown.
 

Data sharing, not network sharing

Much has been made of the convergence of OT and IT, but it’s important to note that the networks themselves are not being shared or “converged.” Data diodes make it easy to share operational data with IT and vendors, helping them to identify and resolve issues more quickly and efficiently. This real-time data enables a proactive approach that can improve overall service delivery and reduce downtime, helping these organizations meet service level agreements (SLAs), identify maintenance issues and address them quickly and identify trends to make strategic decisions about risks and investments.
 

What’s needed to secure Industry 4.0?

As data diodes improve unidirectional data sharing between IT and OT, it’s still important to create a security framework that addresses the complexity of this convergence. A few critical elements include:

1. Network segmentation and access control
2. Data protection and integrity
3. Device security and patch management
4. Vulnerability and patch management
5. Threat intelligence and incident response
6. Continuous monitoring and risk management
7. Security awareness and information sharing

By implementing a comprehensive security framework that encompasses these key components, organizations in the critical infrastructure sector can leverage the benefits offered by Industry 4.0 while still maintaining security, integrity and availability.