PUBLISHER: Guidehouse Insights | PRODUCT CODE: 1455865
PUBLISHER: Guidehouse Insights | PRODUCT CODE: 1455865
Adding connectivity to critical infrastructure has enabled utilities to implement green initiatives, improve resilience, and manage faults more easily. However, increased connectivity has also expanded the attack surface for malicious actors to steal data or wreck utilities' equipment. As a result, operational technology (OT) organizations within utilities have had to follow their IT colleagues in implementing greater cybersecurity controls to reduce the damage from cyberattacks.
At the same time, cyberattacks against sectors like manufacturing and utilities have grown sharply in recent years and are becoming more sophisticated. Cybersecurity researchers continually discover new threat groups and vulnerabilities, and attackers constantly devise new ways to extort money or disrupt operations. For example, researchers say that in 2023, ransomware attacks totaled more than $1 billion for the first time, as threat actors launched more attacks and demanded more money per attack.
This report focuses on cybersecurity in the energy OT sector, specifically in the areas of transmission automation, distribution automation, communications, and industrial control systems. It discusses the state of play in terms of technologies and tactics to prevent and mitigate cyberattacks, and presents forecasts for energy OT cybersecurity spending in all world regions.
Pictorial Representation of the Industry Value Chain