CISA: Rising Ransomware Threat to Operational Technology Assets – Fact Sheet

Critical Infrastructure Partners,

 

With every headline in the news, we are reminded about the increasing threat, both in number and size, that ransomware incidents have on critical infrastructure in the United States and across the globe. The President has made strengthening our nation’s resilience from cyberattacks – against both the private and public sectors – a top priority of the Administration.

 

In this ongoing fight against the threat of ransomware, CISA today released a new fact sheet, Rising Ransomware Threat to OT Assets ((https://www.cisa.gov/publication/ransomware-threat-to-ot). Given the recent spate of ransomware attacks targeting critical infrastructure (CI), CISA produced this guide to help highlight other threats that ransomware poses to organizations beyond just information technology (IT), such as damage to operational technology (OT) and industrial control systems.

 

All organizations are at risk of being targeted by ransomware and we all share an urgent responsibility to protect against ransomware threats. As active partners in this cybersecurity landscape, we know you too understand the importance of companies and organizations fully recognizing the damage a ransomware attack can cause. Companies or organizations that understand the threat ransomware ware poses to their core business operations and understand it as more than a simple risk of data theft will react and recover more effectively.

 

The guidance provides CI owners and operators with concrete steps to prepare for, mitigate against, and respond to a ransomware attack. Further, the fact sheet, which includes links to other federal as well as partner guidance documents, has been designed to improve a CI entity's functional resilience by reducing their vulnerability and the risk of severe business degradation due to ransomware.

 

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to CyberLiaison@cisa.dhs.gov for general questions and inquiries.

 

And as always, thank you for your continued collaboration.

 

Steve Lyddon

Protective Security Advisor, Region 5, Illinois

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

Cell:  217-299-3954 | steven.lyddon@cisa.dhs.gov