Various national cyber security agencies have issued a joint guide on operational technology (OT) cyber security. Developed by the Australian Cyber Security Centre and endorsed by CISA, FBI, NSA, and other international partners, ‘Principles of Operational Technology Cybersecurity’ provides critical information on how to create and maintain a safe, secure, operational technology environment.
The guide outlines six core principles that are intended to aid organizations in identifying how business decisions may adversely impact the cyber security of OT and the specific risks associated with those decisions. Filtering decisions that impact the security of OT will enhance the comprehensive decision-making that promotes security and business continuity.
The six principles are:
- Safety is paramount
- Knowledge of the business is crucial
- OT data is extremely valuable and needs to be protected
- Segment and segregate OT from all other networks
- The supply chain must be secure
- People are essential for OT cyber security.
The full list of endorsing partners is:
- United States Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the National Security Agency (NSA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC).
- United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-UK).
- Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS), a part of the Communications Security Establishment (CSE).
- New Zealand National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-NZ).
- Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI Germany).
- Netherlands’ National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-NL).
- Japan’s National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity (NISC) and National Police Agency (NPA).
- Republic of Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) and NIS’ National Cyber Security Center (NCSC).
