Read OTORIO's CTO and Co-founder Yair Attar's take on how to keep airports operational technology secured this holiday season.
These busy times don’t make anything easy, but when it comes to the complex and constantly threatened activity of airports, the stakes are especially high.
Here is an excerpt of the article:
Over the past several years, airports have become more connected and efficient by adopting digitalized OT systems. Airports operate many OT systems that are managed through IT architecture, including baggage control, power, de-icing systems and fuel pumps.
In 2022 alone, airlines and airports have seen a multitude of cyberattacks. In October, more than a dozen US airports experienced denial of service (DoS) attacks that affected their operations and travelers. Aviation services and logistics company Swissport International suffered a ransomware attack in February that hit its IT infrastructure and operations, causing flight delays. Passenger data from nearly a dozen airlines around the world was also compromised after hackers breached servers belonging to SITA in 2021.
A successful cyberattack on a critical airport system can be extremely damaging. The outcome can range from slowing or stopping operations to widespread panic.
Comprehensive OT asset visibility is the only way to identify and maintain an inventory of all the airport’s digital assets and their configuration details. This requires a contextualized view of all IT and OT assets together and the airport environment’s digital security posture.
Most of today’s OT cybersecurity solutions show the assets but lack operational context. In other words, they do not provide insight into the likely impact that device failure will have on the business. Contextualization is crucial to making sound decisions regarding potential threats that can have real-world impacts.
Although some airports have begun conducting OT cybersecurity assessments, many are still very immature in their journeys. Few have implemented comprehensive risk assessment, monitoring and management solutions to gain a centralized view of all the risks affecting their various OT, IT and IIoT assets.
To read the full article check out Passenger Terminal Today and learn about the importance of comprehensive OT asset visibility and how to overcome risks that stem from the human factor.