Provide your understanding of this report on Industrial Cybersecurity. Also, what are the impacts of a security breach on a company? Are organizations prepared for this type of threat?

According to the article from my perspective, companies overall underestimate the damage or result of
a cybersecurity attack and are typically ill-prepared. Some impacts include, but are not limited to:

  • Costing Lives
  • Impact on the environment
  • Attracting fines
  • Putting customers at risk
  • Loss of product or services
  • Business shuts down.

Based on the survey listed breaches are attempted all the time and many have been successful in
2017. The impacts can be due to customer information being leaked or products that affect customers.
For an oil or gas company, this affects consumers and can greatly impact the environment and cause loss of
product. From the numbers listed Target attacks were the number one reason a threat occurred, and
human error was third. However, organizations listed target attacks as the fifth biggest concern, and
human error was third from their perspective.
Of the companies listed the reports indicate most incidents happened at least twice, but there was also
a percentage that experienced 11 or more attacks within a year. Another chart also listed that half the
companies were mostly prepared, but there were still vulnerabilities, and 17% were not prepared at all.
It seems as if the companies are figuring out after the attack happens instead of being prepared to fight
it when it happens. Instead of looking at the data such as the main cause of the attacks they are sticking
to their assumptions and not actually adjusting to the facts. According to an employee, most smaller
companies are worried about the number and do not consider the effects and benefits of using certain
tools. Instead of preventing a threat they attempt to stop it by not having the staff dedicated to identifying
it sooner.

Advantage, B. (2017). The State of industrial cybersecurity 2017. Kaspersky. https://go.kaspersky.com/rs/802-IJN-240/images/ICS%20WHITE%20PAPER.pdf