Blog

Blog

How Does IoT Contribute to Real-Time Grid Monitoring for Enhanced Stability and Fault Detection?

More decision-makers are investing in grid modernization efforts, knowing that doing so is necessary for keeping pace with modern demands. For example, smart grid fault-detection sensors could warn utility company providers of problems in real time, preventing costly and inconvenient outages. Technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) can also...
Blog

Fortifying IoT Devices: Unraveling the Art of Securing Embedded Systems

Interconnected, data-enabled devices are more common now than ever before. By 2027, it is predicted that there will be more than 41 billion new IoT devices. The emergence of each new device offers a fresh vulnerability point for opportunistic bad actors. In 2022, there were over 112 million cyberattacks carried out on IoT devices worldwide....
Blog

How MSSPs Help with Cybersecurity Compliance

While always a part of business, compliance demands have skyrocketed as the digital world gives us so many more ways to go awry. We all remember the Enron scandal that precipitated the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). Now, SOX compliance means being above board on a number of cybersecurity requirements as well. Fortra's Tripwire recently released a new...
Blog

What is NERC? Everything you need to know

Electric grids are part of every nation’s critical infrastructure. Every societal activity and business depends on reliable and safe electricity distribution. The US electric grid is a huge network of powerlines, distribution hubs, and renewable and non-renewable energy generators that is increasingly exposed to cyber-physical risks due to the...
Blog

ICS Environments and Patch Management: What to Do If You Can’t Patch

The evolution of the cyber threat landscape highlights the need for organizations to strengthen their ability to identify, analyze, and evaluate cyber risks before they evolve into security incidents. Known unpatched vulnerabilities are often exploited by criminals to penetrate Industrial Control Systems (ICS) environments and disrupt critical...
Blog

Increasing Your Business’ Cyber Maturity with Fortra

When building a tower, it helps to start with a sturdy foundation. Cyber maturity is the tower, and there are three levels that build it: Foundational IT/OT & Security Control Processes Fundamental Security Control Capabilities Advanced Security Control Capabilities Fortra occupies a unique space in the industry because of the sheer size of...
Blog

How to Build an Effective ICS Security Program

How to Build an Effective ICS Security Program Of all the different areas of cybersecurity, not many are as important, or have as far-reaching consequences as industrial control systems (ICS) security. While most relevant organizations would agree that ICS security is a significant concern for their operations, it is easier said than done. Many...
Blog

OT Security: Risks, Challenges and Securing your Environment

Before the revolution of Information Technology (IT), the world experienced the revolution of Operational Technology (OT). Operational Technology is the combination of hardware and software that controls and operates the physical mechanisms of industry. OT systems play an important role in the water, manufacturing, power, and distribution systems...
Blog

Working with a Reliable Partner for Cybersecurity Success

Technology companies are often seen as revolving doors of constantly shifting personnel. Whether they are seeking a better work environment or chasing a higher paycheck, these staff changes can hurt an organization’s progress. Worse yet, the customers are often negatively impacted by these changes in the continuity of established relationships. At...
Blog

CISO to BISO – What's your next role?

Introduction For the longest time within the cybersecurity industry, we have had Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) whose role is to set the strategic direction for Information Security within an organisation. But what are the stepping stones to becoming a CISO? In the past, this has been a difficult question to answer, but typically the...
Blog

Former contractor accused of remotely accessing town's water treatment facility

A federal grand jury has indicted a former employee of a contractor operating a California town's wastewater treatment facility, alleging that he remotely turned off critical systems and could have endangered public health and safety. 53-year-old Rambler Gallor of Tracy, California, held a full-time position at a Massachusetts company that was...
Blog

What (Still) Needs to be Done to Secure the U.S. Power Grid in 2023?

It’s no secret that the U.S. power grid is one of the main foundations of the nation’s economy, infrastructure, and daily way of life. Now that almost everything is digitized, it is hinging on it even more. We wouldn’t be able to use even most vending machines (not to mention cell towers or the internet) without a working electrical supply, and the...
Blog

The Future of Driverless Cars: Technology, Security and AI

Back in 2015, we published an article about the apparent perils of driverless cars. At that time, the newness and novelty of sitting back and allowing a car to drive you to your destination created a source of criminal fascination for some, and a nightmare for others. It has been eight years since the original article was published, so perhaps it is...
Blog

A Day in the Life of a SOC Team

This piece was originally published on Fortra’s AlertLogic.com Blog. Managed detection and response (MDR) would be nothing without a SOC (security operations center). They’re on the frontline of our clients’ defenses — a living, breathing layer of intelligence and protection to complement our automated cybersecurity features. These are the people...
Blog

Distributed Energy Resources and Grid Security

As the United States government, the energy industry, and individual consumers work toward cleaner and more sustainable energy solutions, it is crucial to consider how new and advancing technologies affect, and are affected by, cybersecurity concerns. ­­­­Increasing use of smart energy devices can be useful for consumers to have more control over...
Blog

A Look at The 2023 Global Automotive Cybersecurity Report

From its inception, the automotive industry has been shaped by innovation and disruption. In recent years, these transformations have taken shape in rapid digitization, ever-growing Electric Vehicle (EV) infrastructure, and advanced connectivity. These shifts have redirected the automotive industry, meeting and surpassing customer expectations for...
Blog

How Retiring Gas and Coal Plants Affects Grid Stability

Legacy gas and coal plants are being aged out – and no one wants to pay enough to keep them going. With increased pressure from green energy laws and added competition from renewable sources, these monsters of Old Power are being shown the door. Considering they've predated and precipitated all Industrial Revolutions (except for this last one – that...
Blog

How to Advance ICS Cybersecurity: Implement Continuous Monitoring

Industrial control systems are fundamental to all industrial processes, from power generation to water treatment and manufacturing. ICS refers to the collection of devices that govern a process to ensure its safe and effective execution. These devices include Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, Distributed Control Systems (DCS)...
Blog

The State of the US National Cybersecurity Strategy for the Electric Grid

The distribution systems of the U.S. energy grid — the portions of the grid that carry electricity to consumers — are growing more susceptible to cyber-attacks, in part due to the advent of monitoring and control technology and their reliance on them. However, the magnitude of the possible consequences of such attacks is not fully understood....
Blog

The Future of Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electric (CASE) Vehicles is Upon Us.

The popularity of electric vehicles is partly a response to the desire of achieving sustainability and carbon footprint reduction. Automobile manufacturers are making substantial investments to tackle emissions issues, create environment-friendly vehicles, and align with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) requirements. To achieve brand edge...