Critical Infrastructure Security , Endpoint Security , Events

Critical Infrastructure: How to Counter Rising Threats

Palo Alto Networks' Lionel Jacobs Jr. on Locking Down Industrial Cybersecurity Mathew J. Schwartz (euroinfosec) • June 16, 2022

Lionel Jacobs, security architect for ICS and SCADA systems, Palo Alto Networks

Threats facing industrial control systems are well-documented, and as the Russia-Ukraine war continues, concerns are rising about reprisals aimed at poorly protected Western critical infrastructure, says Lionel Jacobs Jr., security architect for ICS and SCADA systems at Palo Alto Networks.

It's a fact of life that, while cybersecurity threats are constantly changing, industrial control systems - or ICS - and supervisory control and data acquisition - or SCADA - systems used to run and secure industrial environments may only get refreshed every 10 to 20 years. That's why it's imperative for organizations supporting critical infrastructure to have robust cybersecurity defenses in place.

In a video interview with Information Security Media Group at RSA Conference 2022, Jacobs also discusses:

Why critical infrastructure is at increased risk;
What it will take to truly address the ICS/SCADA threat;
Where to get started with locking down industrial cybersecurity.

Jacobs has spent the last 23 plus years focusing on design, controls and implementation of ICS systems and operational technologies. He was a pioneer in bridging the IT/OT security gap and implementing next-generation security into performance and safety-critical process controls. He has successfully deployed a large-scale ICS/SCADA security architecture comprised of over 100 next-generation firewalls, hundreds of advanced endpoint protection clients, and security information and event management distributed over dozens of remote plants and a centralized core - all based on a zero trust philosophy.