In critical infrastructure environments, such as the energy and utilities sector, the most critical cybersecurity gaps often exist within field operations. While attention is usually focused on sophisticated malware and emerging threat vectors, such as AI-driven malware, some of the most damaging breaches happened due to mishandling removable media or a third-party laptop.
With continuous challenges like the pressure to minimize downtime, a lack of efficient security tools, or the urgency to restore a malfunctioning system, decisions made during these five common field operations moments can be critical.
5 Common High-Risk Scenarios for OT Systems
1. When a Third-Party Laptop is Urgently Needed
In case of an emergency, such as OT system downtime, the time constraint might pressure administrators to let a contractor's laptop skip the necessary transient device security screening. Such exceptions put organizations at massive risk. With no way to confirm the safety of vendor laptops, malware can be introduced to air-gapped OT systems.
2. When a USB Enters the Facility
When a technician brings a USB drive into an air-gapped zone, it could be considered safe due to a recent scan. Skipping a rescan at the point of entry due to the lack of removable media scanning deployments such as MetaDefender Kiosk™, or relying on the vendor’s safety protocol, can lead to compromising critical systems.
3. When Files are Transferred from IT to OT Systems
Software updates and security patches need to be installed in a timely manner. Removable media used by vendors, such as USB drives and external hard drives, could bypass inspection due to operational urgency. The risk of using unscanned removable media or using shared folders to transfer critical data can be mitigated by solutions like MetaDefender Managed File Transfer™ and MetaDefender NetWall®.
4. When No One Can Trace What Happened
Enforcing security procedures isn't enough without traceable logs. Compliance officers’ inability to provide full logs and records for auditors could lead to failing compliance audits. Outdated methods like fetching policy enforcement proof through emails and spreadsheets are no longer feasible. With a solution like My OPSWAT Central Management™ offering centralized monitoring, report management, and policy enforcement, compliance offers can have seamless access to comprehensive audit records.
5. When Every Site Follows Different Security Procedures
In a real-world example, one facility could have a scanning kiosk, another facility could use an antivirus on a dedicated system, and another may not have clear scanning requirements, leaving each team to set and enforce its own procedures. Without modern solutions, consistent workflows, insightful reporting, and unified policy enforcement, there is no way to perform efficient incident response and risk management.
Cyber Resilience Begins with Role Alignment
Cybersecurity doesn't stop at deploying advanced software and hardware-based solutions while ignoring how their operators' roles align with them. In critical infrastructure environments, security involves software, hardware, people, and operations. Choosing the right tools and security policies must align with how teams work and what they need.
Cyber resilience requires deploying the right solutions, equipped with up-to-date technologies, and aligned with the needs of those who operate them:
| Role | Key Concern | How OPSWAT Enables Resilience |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance Officers | Validating that all third-party devices and removable media are properly scanned, with logged scan data | My OPSWAT Central Management provides centralized proof of policy compliance to support regulatory audits in a unified view. |
| OT/Plant Operators | Enforcing removable media and third-party laptop scanning without downtime Securing devices inside critical OT networks from peripheral and removable media threats | MetaDefender Kiosk protects critical systems by preventing removable media threats. It scans and sanitizes files with a scanning speed of up to 13,000+ files per minute. MetaDefender Drive™ performs bare metal scans on vendor laptops. As a portable scanning device, it easily integrates with security protocols. MetaDefender Endpoint™ extends protection for critical endpoints by proactively scanning connected devices, blocking media use until security conditions are met, and identifying vulnerabilities from third-party applications. |
| CISOs / Security Leads | Standardizing policy enforcement and strengthening security posture | My OPSWAT Central Management helps enforce consistent scan policies by providing centralized control over security configurations across all endpoints from a single dashboard. |
Over the years, energy and utility organizations have used the MetaDefender platform to build defense-in-depth strategies and secure their critical networks by:
- Scanning and securing third-party devices with MetaDefender Drive before they connect to OT systems
- Preventing threats from removable media at the point of entry with MetaDefender Kiosk and MetaDefender Endpoint
- Validating whether the media has been scanned by MetaDefender Kiosk using MetaDefender Media Firewall (hardware) or MetaDefender Endpoint Validation (software)
- Securely transferring files from IT to OT systems with MetaDefender Managed File Transfer
- Controlling directional data flow using MetaDefender NetWall
- Enforcing scanning policies across all sites and devices from a single pane of glass with My OPSWAT Central Management
How Leading Energy and Utilities Organizations Successfully Protect their Critical Systems
From nuclear plants to major energy providers across EMEA, APAC, and North America, organizations like Dounreay Nuclear Facility and Hitachi Energy have deployed OPSWAT solutions to solve these challenges.
In the Proven Deployments in Utilities & Energy e-book, you will find:
- Strategies for audit-readiness and centralized control
- Solutions that are tailored for air-gapped and OT environments
- 13 real-world deployment stories, with challenges, solutions, and outcomes
