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Beware Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Attacks—The Dark Side of Connectivity

July 6, 2017

Just as you start getting used to the idea of shifting from serial communications to Industrial Ethernet connectivity, operational technology demands are changing yet again.

For utility companies trying to get more agile and flexible through Industrial Ethernet, connectivity has to evolve even further to accommodate the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Because believe it or not, we’re closer to smart cities than you might think. 

However, there’s a dark side to connectivity—the rising tide of security threats.

The Light Side of Industrial Internet of Things

If security is such a concern for the Industrial Internet of Things, you might think it would be easier to forge ahead with more basic Industrial Ethernet connectivity. The problem is that the benefits and value of IIoT are starting to outweigh our security concerns. These benefits include:

  • Cost-effective Data Collection: Outfitting utility networks with battery-powered, wireless sensors gives you the ability to collect mountains of valuable data while also cutting costs compared to traditional connectivity.
  • Strategic Data Analysis: The IIoT gives you an opportunity to leverage new big data analytics solutions to derive actionable insights from smart grid data.
  • Easy Access to Insights: Improve the safety and reliability of your infrastructure by providing access to insights across the organization without hassles.
  • Real-time Efficiency Adjustments: Automating smart grid maintenance and resource utilization boosts your infrastructure performance so you can get more value out of your investments.

These benefits (and others) are driving the Industrial Internet of Things forward whether we like it or not. But while no company wants to experience a cyber attack, the life-and-death nature of attacks on utility infrastructure reduces the margin for error virtually to zero.

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The Security Crossroads of Industrial Internet of Things

David Meltzer, CTO of Tripwire, put the IIoT double-edged sword into perspective in a recent report on industrial security concerns:

There are only two ways this scenario plays out: Either we change our level of preparation or we experience the realization of these [security] risks. The reality is that cyber attacks in the industrial space can have significant consequences in terms of safety and the availability of critical operations.

According to the survey results from over 400 IT professionals who work in security, the dark side of IIoT connectivity is going to pose problems moving forward:

  • 96% expect to see IIoT increase in 2017
  • 51% say their organizations aren’t ready for malicious IIoT attacks
  • Despite security challenges, 90% say they’ll increase IIoT implementation

Cyber attacks against connected “things” aren’t just theories—they’re actually happening. Just look at what happened in October 2016 when a network of IoT devices were hacked as part of a DDoS attack that took down many of the world’s largest websites. What’s stopping attackers from hacking your IIoT deployments?

Before you dive headfirst into the smart grid, you have to make sure you have a plan for smarter security. This means establishing a visibility-first architecture that ensures your security appliances and applications see every bit, byte and packet® that moves throughout your network.

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Heartbeats Packets Inside the Bypass TAP

If the inline security tool goes off-line, the TAP will bypass the tool and automatically keep the link flowing. The Bypass TAP does this by sending heartbeat packets to the inline security tool. As long as the inline security tool is on-line, the heartbeat packets will be returned to the TAP, and the link traffic will continue to flow through the inline security tool.

If the heartbeat packets are not returned to the TAP (indicating that the inline security tool has gone off-line), the TAP will automatically 'bypass' the inline security tool and keep the link traffic flowing. The TAP also removes the heartbeat packets before sending the network traffic back onto the critical link.

While the TAP is in bypass mode, it continues to send heartbeat packets out to the inline security tool so that once the tool is back on-line, it will begin returning the heartbeat packets back to the TAP indicating that the tool is ready to go back to work. The TAP will then direct the network traffic back through the inline security tool along with the heartbeat packets placing the tool back inline.

Some of you may have noticed a flaw in the logic behind this solution!  You say, “What if the TAP should fail because it is also in-line? Then the link will also fail!” The TAP would now be considered a point of failure. That is a good catch – but in our blog on Bypass vs. Failsafe, I explained that if a TAP were to fail or lose power, it must provide failsafe protection to the link it is attached to. So our network TAP will go into Failsafe mode keeping the link flowing.

Glossary

  1. Single point of failure: a risk to an IT network if one part of the system brings down a larger part of the entire system.

  2. Heartbeat packet: a soft detection technology that monitors the health of inline appliances. Read the heartbeat packet blog here.

  3. Critical link: the connection between two or more network devices or appliances that if the connection fails then the network is disrupted.

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