SCADAfence Releases Results of Global Survey of IT and OT Cyber Security Professionals

Findings indicate a shortage of well-trained OT security personnel, human error, and lack of visibility into OT networks are responsible for increasing OT attacks worldwide.

SCADAfence launches 'OT Security Managed Services' to help alleviate the challenge of talent shortfall.

TEL AVIV, Israel, July 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SCADAfence, the global leader in cyber security for Operation Technology (OT) & Internet of Things (IoT) environments, today announced the publication of a global survey of OT cyber security professionals. The full report can be downloaded from the SCADAfence website.

The 2022 State of Operational Technology is the culmination of a survey of 3,500 OT security professionals on 6 continents. It offers sweeping insight into the minds of OT cyber security experts working in the critical infrastructure and manufacturing sectors.

Among the survey's key findings, 79% of OT experts believe human error is the greatest risk for compromise to OT systems. 83% of those surveyed believe there is a significant shortage of trained OT workers, with not enough new workers being trained to meet the growing demand. Additionally, 69% believe this shortage puts organizations at higher risk than ever before.

Survey results also show that experts believe that the lack of visibility into their OT/ICS networks is the biggest challenge to managing risks.

The survey also addressed the issue of successful IT-OT convergence, with 50% of respondents saying that proper communication between IT-OT teams is the biggest factor for success.

"SCADAfence commissioned this global survey because we know this is a critical time for OT and IoT security, and we wanted to fully understand the state of OT security preparedness on a global level," said Elad Ben-Meir, CEO of SCADAfence. "These results give everyone direction on what needs to happen next. It provides a roadmap for organizations in the critical infrastructure and industrial sectors on how to increase their ability to prevent a possible cyber attack and prevent downtime."

In response to the findings in this survey, in particular the severe lack of qualified OT security workers, SCADAfence has officially launched Managed Services for OT security. This program allows industrial manufacturers to outsource their OT security to SCADAfence's team of experts. The benefits of the program include faster detection and response time, almost real-time threat detection, and a better understanding of the state of the organization's OT security. For full details on OT managed services, visit SCADAfence's website.

About SCADAfence:

SCADAfence is the global technology leader in OT & IoT cybersecurity. SCADAfence offers a full suite of industrial cybersecurity products that provides full coverage of large-scale networks, offering best-in-class network monitoring, asset discovery, governance, remote access, and IoT device security. A Gartner 'Cool Vendor' in 2020, SCADAfence delivers proactive security and visibility to some of the world's most complex OT networks, including the largest manufacturing facility in Europe. SCADAfence enables organizations in critical infrastructure, manufacturing, and building management industries to operate securely, reliably, and efficiently. To learn more, visit our website, check out our blog, or follow us on LinkedIn.

Contact:

Joan Weiner-Levin
[email protected]

SOURCE SCADAfence