How Emerging Technologies in Critical Infrastructure Are Increasing Cybersecurity Risks
Emerging technologies such as the Industrial Internet of Things, unified platform architectures, and cloud-integrated Operational Technology (OT) are significantly transforming the Critical Infrastructure (CI) landscape. This transformation, driven by the need for greater agility and competitive advantage, is unlocking unprecedented levels of automation, operational efficiency, and data-driven decision-making. However, it is also expanding the cyber threat surface in ways that many leaders have yet to fully comprehend. Historically, CI was more challenging for malicious threat actors to penetrate due to its complexity and fragmented legacy systems. Today, many new facilities are built on unified platforms, creating a predictable attack surface where a single successful exploit can cascade across multiple sites sharing the same architecture. While this reduction in complexity simplifies operations for businesses, it simultaneously lowers the barrier to entry for cybercriminals, leading to an increase in the scale and frequency of attacks.
Fortinet’s research indicates that cybercriminals launched over 36,000 malicious scans per second in 2024, using automation to probe global infrastructure for vulnerabilities. A primary focus of these scans is often unmonitored OT protocols like Modbus Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), which are critical to sectors such as telecommunications, industrial control systems, and manufacturing. These OT protocols are typically unencrypted, making them easier to intercept and manipulate compared to encrypted Internet protocols used in IT networks. This trend is particularly concerning for the manufacturing sector, which has become the most targeted industry for ransomware attacks. Companies in this space frequently underestimate their significance within the broader national interest. The financial consequences of disruption are staggering, with estimates suggesting that the cost of downtime for Australian industrial organisations can exceed AU$349,000 per hour. Despite this, many businesses fail to quantify their risk, hindering their ability to justify or prioritise cybersecurity investments and leaving decision-makers unaware of the urgency and scale of the threat.
Categories: Cybersecurity Risks, Operational Technology Vulnerabilities, Industrial Automation Trends
Tags: Industrial Internet of Things, Unified Platform Architectures, Cloud-Integrated Operational Technology, Cyber Threat Surface, Automation, Operational Efficiency, Data-Driven Decision-Making, OT Protocols, Ransomware Attacks, Risk Quantification