Cyberattacks on operational technology spread to smaller establishments; hospitals, cold-storage units increasingly vulnerable

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 14 (UNI) Cybersecurity threats targeting Operational Technology (OT) are no longer confined to large industries and critical infrastructure, with smaller establishments, including hospitals, supermarkets, pharmaceutical units, cold-storage facilities and municipal utilities, emerging as potential targets. The shift calls for a fundamental reorientation of industrial cybersecurity, with protection extending to every connected physical process rather than being restricted to organisations classified as critical infrastructure, cybersecurity specialist K. S. Manoj has observed. Unlike conventional cyberattacks targeting information systems and digital services, intrusions into OT networks can have direct physical consequences, disrupting production, interrupting essential supplies, damaging equipment and compromising temperature-sensitive…