NIST has printed a brand new information designed to assist organizations cut back cybersecurity dangers related to using detachable media units in operational know-how (OT) environments.
NIST Particular Publication (SP) 1334 was authored by the Nationwide Cybersecurity Middle of Excellence (NCCoE) and it focuses on using USB flash drives, but in addition mentions different sorts of detachable media corresponding to exterior exhausting drives and CD/DVD drives.
USB flash drives are sometimes utilized in OT environments to conduct firmware updates or to retrieve knowledge for diagnostics functions, however such units are additionally typically a supply of malware infections.
Whereas the cybersecurity trade has lengthy warned organizations in regards to the safety dangers, using USB drives in OT environments nonetheless poses a major risk to industrial management methods (ICS) and up to date analysis has proven that whereas such drives sometimes carry commodity malware, threats have gotten more and more subtle and focused at OT.
“If a USB system is contaminated with malware, it could actually unfold to the commercial management system and trigger issues, corresponding to disrupting operations or compromising security,” NIST warned.
NIST SP 1334 condenses all related info on defending ICS towards USB-borne threats right into a two-page doc.
The information covers 4 points: procedural controls, bodily controls, technical controls, and transportation and sanitization.
When it comes to procedural controls, the information advises organizations to develop insurance policies for buying, authorizing and managing units they personal, and to contemplate all different units as untrusted. The acquired units ought to adhere to trendy safety requirements and their use must be restricted to particular personnel and functions.Commercial. Scroll to proceed studying.
As for bodily controls, units must be saved in a bodily safe location, and they need to be inventoried and labeled.
The part of NIST’s information on technical controls recommends disabling pointless ports to stop unauthorized use, scanning units for malware earlier than and after use, disabling autorun, encrypting knowledge saved on moveable storage media, and enabling write-protection when attainable.
The company additionally recommends having procedures in place for transporting units inside and between organizations, and performing knowledge sanitization previous to the disposal of the system.
Corporations corresponding to Honeywell have been providing devoted cybersecurity options designed to guard industrial amenities from USB-borne threats.
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