Firms Overestimate Remote Access Security

The problem of insecure remote access is compounded by a "sprawl" of disparate tools. One 2024 analysis found that 55% of industrial organizations use at least four different remote access tools, and a third use six or more. This fragmentation creates inconsistent security protocols and significant visibility gaps for security teams. Many of the remote access solutions in use are not designed for the specific needs of operational technology (OT). A recent report found that 79% of organizations use more than two remote access management tools that lack basic enterprise-grade security features. These often lack crucial functions like session recording, auditing, and role-based access controls, which are vital for securing sensitive industrial environments. The consequences of these vulnerabilities are significant, with over half of ransomware incidents in 2024 being traced back to compromised remote access services like VPNs and Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). In fact, a 2024 study revealed that 65% of OT environments had insecure remote access conditions. This has contributed to a 60% increase in ransomware groups impacting industrial systems in the last year. High-profile attacks have demonstrated the real-world impact of these security flaws. The 2021 Colonial Pipeline breach, which caused fuel shortages across the U.S. East Coast, was the result of a compromised VPN account that was no longer in use. More recently, a water authority in Pennsylvania was breached through an internet-exposed programmable logic controller (PLC), a type of industrial computer. To counter these threats, there is a growing shift towards unified OT-specific access platforms. These systems centralize security by enforcing the principle of least-privilege access, ensuring users and third-party vendors can only access the specific systems they are authorized for. This identity-centric model is a significant departure from traditional network-wide access granted by many VPNs. Unified platforms enhance security by providing a single point of control for managing access, monitoring activity, and enforcing policies across all users and systems. Features often include multi-factor authentication, session recording, and credential management, which help to create detailed audit trails and prevent unauthorized lateral movement across the network. This integrated approach helps to eliminate security silos and provides a more comprehensive view of the entire IT and OT environment.