Cyber Threats Looming Large On Critical Infrastructure: McAfee

McAfee has revealed the staggering cost and impact of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure such as electrical grids, oil and gas production, telecommunications and transportation networks. A survey of 600 IT security executives from critical infrastructure enterprises worldwide showed that more than half (54 percent) have already suffered large scale attacks or stealthy infiltrations from organised crime gangs, terrorists or nation-states. The average estimated cost of downtime associated with a major incident is $6.3 million per day.

The report ‘In the Crossfire: Critical Infrastructure in the Age of Cyberwar’, commissioned by McAfee and authored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), also found that the risk of cyberattacks is rising. Despite a growing body of legislation and regulation, about 64 percent of the Indian respondents believe that the current law in their country is inadequate against tackling cyberattackers. India, Spain and Italy reported lowest security adoption rates – all under 40 percent. Worldwide, only 20 percent think their sector is safe from serious cyberattacks over the next five years.

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McAfee global threat intelligence data suggests that India has recently replaced China (and Russia and Romania) as the richest hunting ground for hackers bent on recruiting infected computers for botnets, another possible result of the disparity between the two countries’ security adoption rates.

Many of the world’s critical infrastructures were built for reliability and availability, not for security. Traditionally, these organisations have had little to no cyber protection, and have relied on guards, gates and guns. Today however, computer networks are interconnected with corporate IT networks and other infrastructure networks, which are accessible from anywhere in the world.

“In today’s economic climate, it is imperative that organisations prepare for the instability that cyber attacks on critical infrastructure can cause,” said Dave DeWalt, President & CEO of McAfee. “From public transportation, to energy to telecommunications, these are the systems we depend on every day. An attack on any of these industries could cause widespread economic disruptions, environmental disasters, loss of property and even loss of life.”

“The recently identified Operation Aurora was the largest and most sophisticated cyber attack targeted at specific corporations, but it could have just as easily targeted the world’s critical infrastructure,” continued DeWalt. “The attack announced by Google and identified by McAfee was the most sophisticated threat seen in years making it a watershed moment in cybersecurity because of the targeted and co-ordinated nature of the attack.”

Some key findings from McAfee’s Critical Infrastructure Protection report:

• Low confidence in preparedness: Over a third of those surveyed believe their sector is unprepared to deal with major attacks or stealthy infiltrations by high-level adversaries. Saudi Arabia, India and Mexico emerge as the least confident.

• Recession-driven cuts raising the risk: Two-thirds of IT executives surveyed claimed that the current economic climate has caused cutbacks in the security resources available; one in four said resources had been reduced by 15 percent or more. Cuts are particularly evident in the energy and oil/gas sector. Cuts were most widespread in India, Spain, France and Mexico; and least widespread in Australia.

• Government involvement in cyberattacks: 60 percent of those surveyed believe representatives of foreign governments have been involved in past infrastructure infiltrations. In terms of countries that posed the biggest threat to critical infrastructure security, the United States (36 percent) and China (33 percent) topped the list. In India, about 60 percent of the respondents believe in involvement of foreign governments in cyberattacks against critical infrastructure in the country.

• Laws ineffective in protecting against potential attacks: More than half (55 percent) believe that the laws in their country are inadequate in deterring potential cyber attacks with those based in Russia, Mexico and Brazil the most sceptical; 45 percent don’t believe that the authorities are capable of preventing or deterring attacks. 97 percent of the executives in India reported that their cybersecurity was sub¬ject to law or regulation, while China was the second most regulated country, tied with Germany at 92 percent. However, in China, 91 percent of those regulated said they had changed com¬pany procedures as a result, whereas in India, only 66 percent said they had made changes. 64 percent of the Indian respondents believe that the current law in their country is inadequate for tackling cyberattackers.

• Insurance firms bearing brunt of cyber attack costs: More than half of those surveyed expected insurance to pick up the cost of a cyberattack while nearly one in five said it would fall on rate-payers or customers. Just over a quarter expected a government bail-out.

• Countries report large scale DDOS attacks: Nearly 80 percent of the respondents in India reported large scale DDOS attacks. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents experiencing large-scale DDOS attacks reported that these had affected their operations in some way. They affected e-mail connectivity, Internet-based telephone sys¬tems and other operationally significant functions.

• Extortion most common in India: One-in-five critical infrastructure entities reported being the victim of extortion through cyberattack or threatened cyberattack within the past two years. Extortion was most common in India with 40 percent respondents reporting the same followed by Saudi Arabia/ Middle East, China and France.

“Governance issues are at the centre of any discussion of security for critical infrastructure,” said Stewart Baker, Distinguished Visiting Fellow at CSIS and Lawyer at Steptoe and Johnson. “The relationships between the governments and private sector organisations involved are complex but it is essential that each have faith in the other’s ability. The security industry will always strive to stay one step ahead, but in the absence of any technological silver bullet, regulation has a role to play in defending critical infrastructures around the world.”