No matter the industry or critical infrastructure sector your organization is in, large-scale cyberattacks are a prescient and serious threat. While state-sponsored threat actors and advanced persistent threats (APTs) would historically target larger corporations and government agencies because of high-value intelligence their data would contain, these attackers now also set their sights on disrupting or damaging cyber-physical systems (CPS) and operational technology (OT) environments.
As a result, critical infrastructure is now in the crosshairs. In 2022, the Russian-linked threat actor Sandworm launched a multi-pronged attack against Ukraine’s critical infrastructure that caused widespread power outages. This campaign used living-off-the-land (LotL) techniques, in which the aggressor deploys processes and functionalities that are already present within the target’s network and systems, making them difficult to detect. The fact that this was followed by Russian missile strikes against Ukrainian soft targets underscores the terrifying implications of these types of cyberattacks.
With the rise of nation-state threat actors such as Sandworm, VoltTyphoon—which also makes use of LoTL techniques)—and CyberAv3ngers, the intent is clear: These groups aim to weaken critical infrastructure, sow mistrust in governments, and instill doubt in government agencies’ ability to navigate and respond to threats, especially during times of crisis. Therefore, it’s more important than ever for your organization to have a robust cyber threat detection strategy in place.
What is Cyber Threat Detection and Why Does it Matter?
Cyber threat detection is the continuous process of monitoring your digital environment—networks, endpoints, servers, cloud resources, and applications—to identify suspicious activities, security vulnerabilities, and potential cyberattacks before they disrupt critical services or endanger public safety. Moreover, effective cyber threat detection proactively looks for anomalies, deviations from normal network behavior, and indicators of compromise (IoCs) that may signal an imminent threat.
We say it all the time, but to truly protect your organization’s sensitive information and data, it’s no longer optional to be proactive about implementing strategies like this. Nation-state threat actors, among others, simply pose too great a risk.
Key Components of an Effective Threat Detection Strategy
Protecting your organization from sophisticated threats like nation-state actors requires a well-thought-out, cohesive cyber threat detection strategy. Here’s a walkthrough of some of the key components of an effective approach to this.
Identifying and Mitigating Cyber Threats
Gaining deep insight into your network should come first. Do this by implementing solutions that can analyze network behavior on a granular level. Ideally, the solution should be capable of monitoring a wide range of proprietary protocols that may blind IT-centric tools to deviations in normal traffic and behavior. This can be an especially useful tool when defending against living-off-the-land attacks, such as the Sandworm attack on Ukraine we mentioned earlier.
Leveraging Threat Detection
Threat detection refers to the ongoing process of 24/7 monitoring an organization’s OT and IT environments for potential cyber threats before they materialize. Threat detection is a critical part of a robust cyber threat detection strategy, as it takes a proactive approach in detecting and responding to threats. Combine this with a solution that integrates with extended detection and response (EDR), security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR), and security information and event management (SIEM) to ensure your organization has layers of protection to stay one step ahead of cybersecurity threats.
Real-time Monitoring and Anomaly Detection
Utilize monitoring and detection tools to identify unusual patterns and anomalies that might indicate malicious activity. SIEM platforms, as mentioned above, are also great for analyzing incoming data in real time, as they look for patterns, correlations, and deviations from established baselines that could indicate malicious activity or security incidents. This allows for early threat detection, giving your security team enough time to identify and defend.
Integrating Threat Detection
Deploying all these tools is a great start, but it’s also crucial to ensure they integrate seamlessly with your existing infrastructure. Tool sprawl can easily be a thorn in your side if there’s little to no cohesion in what you’ve implemented.
Best Practices for Implementing Cyber Threat Detection in Critical Environments
Due to the exceptionally sensitive nature of critical environments, it’s important to consider their unique operational and safety constraints when protecting them. Here are some best practices to follow when putting your organization’s cyber threat detection strategy into action.
Prioritize Asset Inventory and Visibility
Implement discovery tools that are specifically designed for OT and ICS environments. Claroty’s CTD solution is ideal for this, as it’s purpose-built for providing the most comprehensive profile of all connected devices throughout the network where others fall short.
Establish Network Segmentation
To proactively enhance security, meticulously map your OT/ICS network segmentation. Understanding traffic patterns and pinpointing vulnerabilities is essential for establishing effective monitoring perimeters and identifying any unauthorized movement within the network.
Set a Baseline for Normal Network Behavior
With your assets discovered, set a baseline for what “normal” looks like within your network. Focus on identifying any deviations from that baseline. That way, anomalous behavior is much easier to identify, which can lead to early detection of any malicious activity.
Implement Granular Alerts and Prioritization
Make sure any alerts and detection rules are tuned and contextualized to OT/ICS environments. This will reduce false positives and alert fatigue, and help IT teams to prioritize critical systems that manage worker safety within the physical environment.
Strengthening Cyber Threat Detection with Claroty
In an evolving threat landscape rife with state-sponsored actors causing real damage to cyber-physical systems, it’s absolutely critical to be prepared. That means taking a proactive approach to protecting your organization’s infrastructure. Claroty’s solutions provide industry-leading features, seamless integrations, and expert guidance every step of the way.
Request a demo today to see how we can help you get the protection you deserve.
