Critical infrastructure depends on interconnected operational systems, where cyber incidents can disrupt essential services, safety, and availability.
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Critical infrastructure includes systems and assets vital for public health, safety, and economic stability, such as power grids, water treatment, transportation networks, and healthcare facilities. These systems often combine physical components with industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT) that manage essential services in real time.
From an information-security perspective, critical infrastructure faces risks like unauthorized access to control systems, disruption of service availability, and manipulation of sensor data. Defending these assets requires specialized security measures tailored to ICS environments, including network segmentation, strict access controls, and continuous monitoring for anomalies. Ensuring resilience also involves coordinated efforts between operators and government agencies to address vulnerabilities unique to legacy systems and proprietary protocols.
Wednesday Cyber Incident Shakes America's Largest Healthcare SystemThe Ascension healthcare system is sending away emergency patients and postponing nonemergency procedures as it digs out from a cyber incident that knocked its electronic health record systems offline with no immediate timetable for restoration.
Panel Discusses Way to Address the Job Shortage, the Latest Product Launches and OTFrom the RSA Conference in San Francisco, three ISMG editors joined with a CISO to cover highlights from the event including ways to address the shortage and prevent burnout, the latest AI-based solutions to hit the market and the heightened focus on securing operational technologies to protect critical infrastructure.
Hospital Chain Advised Business Partners to 'Temporarily' Disconnect During ResponseAscension, a non-profit, Catholic healthcare system and one of the largest health systems in the United States, has taken some IT systems offline and advised business partners to disconnect from its IT environment as it responds to a cyberattack that's disrupting clinical services.