Are embedded devices the next ransomware target? – TechCrunch

#News(Security) [ via IoTGroup ]

Operational technology (OT) networks control the devices critical to the continued operations of production lines power plants and energy supplies and as such are typically segmented from a company’s internet-facing IT networks to better isolate critical hardware from cyberattacks.Successful attacks against OT networks are rare but in the wake of the Colonial ransomware attack CISA warned of a growing threat for critical infrastructure owners.

Now security researchers are warning of the risks posed by the embedded devices that sit on those OT networks.Red Balloon Security a security provider for embedded devices found in new research that it’s possible to deploy ransomware on embedded systems that are used in real-world networks.Ang Cui founder and co-CEO of Red Balloon told TechCrunch that while ransomware attacks have hit IT networks of critical infrastructure providers a successful compromise of an OT embedded device can be “far more damaging.” “Companies are not used to or experienced in recovering from an attack on the embedded devices themselves ” he said.

Security veteran Window Snyder who last year launched a startup to help IoT manufacturers reliably and securely deliver software updates to their devices said that embedded devices could become an easy target particularly as other points of entry become more resilient.Speaking of embedded systems: “A lot of them don’t have separation of privilege on them a lot of them don’t have separation between code and data and a lot of them were developed with the idea that they’d be sitting on air-gapped networks — it’s insufficient ” Snyder told TechCrunch.Red Balloon says its research demonstrates that the security built into these devices — many are several decades old — needs to be improved and is calling for end-users in government and commercial sectors to call for higher standards from the vendors who make those devices.“Vendors need to bring more security down to the embedded device level.” He also

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