Malware Threats to the Energy Sector industry-wide collaboration to address the constantly expanding convergence between physical and virtual threats. In other words, there should be robust relationships between key stakeholders in the energy sector to,
among other things, engage in regular dialogue that is useful in securing the delicate interconnectivity between physical and virtual infrastructure.
Kumar, Prasad, and Samikannu (2018) propose a different approach to reducing the sector's vulnerability to malware attacks and other cybersecurity threats. In their view, it is vital for organizations operating in this sector to develop programs to reduce existing operational gaps and enhance an overall culture of security. In other words, the authors argue that a properly functioning entity in the energy sector should be organized in such a way that personnel -from management to subordinate teams- are aware of the threats malware attacks pose to their operations and have robust processes that can facilitate the effective reporting of potential vulnerabilities and emerging incidents. By and large, literature in this area recommends a top- bottom organizational approach towards cyber risk management.
As
stated earlier, the malware landscape has evolved rapidly over the last five years.
According to Wadkar, Di Troia, and Stamp (2020), techniques that are becoming increasingly popular in today's malware attacks include operators exfiltrating user data and utilizing the said data for further monetization purposes. In other cases, Wadkar, Di Troia, and Stamp (2020) have observed unique malware variants capable of targeting industrial control systems and running and manipulating OT system data. At the height of the COVID-19
pandemic, a new trend emerged, where hackers used the threat of leaking the data they obtained as leverage to manipulate victims into paying a specific ransom figure. Wadkar, Di Troia, and Stamp (2020) opine that given the critical importance of the energy sector to the infrastructure of any country, the world will continue seeing malware evolutions as operators leverage attacks to aid their extortion and monetization schemes further.
Against this backdrop, the sector needs to eliminate the obvious vulnerabilities hackers can exploit to access their networks.
Malware Threats to the Energy Sector
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