Honeywell has released a new study showing industrial companies are not moving quickly to adopt cyber security measures to protect their data and operations, even as attacks have increased around the globe.
The survey – Putting Industrial Cyber Security at the Top of the CEO Agenda – was conducted by LNS Research and sponsored by Honeywell. It polled 130 strategic decision makers from industrial companies about their approach to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and their use of industrial cyber security technologies and practices.
Among the findings were: (i) More than half of respondents reported working in an industrial facility that already has had a cyber security breach. (ii) Forty five percent of the responding companies still do not have an accountable enterprise leader for cyber security. (iii) Only 37% are monitoring for suspicious behaviour. (iv) Although many companies are conducting regular risk assessments, 20% are not doing them at all.
“Decision makers are more aware of threats and some progress has been made to address these, but this report reinforces that cyber security fundamentals have not been adopted by a significant portion of the industrial community,” said Safdar Akhtar, business development director, industrial cyber security, EMEA, Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS).
“In order to take advantage of the tremendous benefits of industrial digital transformation and IIoT, companies must improve their cyber security defences and adapt to the heightened threat landscape now,” added Akhtar.
The study suggests these three immediate actions for any industrial organisation to capture the value of the new technologies: (i) making industrial cyber security part of digital transformation strategies; (ii) driving best practice adoption across people, processes and technology, from access controls to risk monitoring, and tap external cyber expertise to fill gaps; and (iii) focusing on empowering leaders and building an organisational structure that breaks down the silos between IT and OT.
“Cyber security needs to be part of every CEO’s agenda to ensure the effective, immediate and long-term deployment of strategies and technologies such as IIoT,” said Matthew Littlefield, president and principal analyst, LNS Research. “In short, in order for a business to succeed on its digital transformation journey, it needs to succeed with industrial cyber security,” added Littlefield.
LNS Research is a global leader in research and advisory for digital transformation of industry, delivering technology insights for business executives. Its analysts focus on identifying the metrics, leadership, business process, and technology capabilities effecting change.
Honeywell’s industrial cyber security technologies and expertise address many of the issues identified in the LNS Research study.
