Cybersecurity of Pipelines

Every day the mass media around the world releases news related to cyber activities, which report the attempts of one country trying to get advantage over another country using cyber tools. Stuxnet is an example of this type of activities. This is a cyber weapon designed for a very particular objective. It can alter physical processes by taking advantage of the logical vulnerabilities information systems have. The Stuxnet attack was a turning point for governments who witnessed for the first time how physical infrastructures can be altered from the cyber space. This fact forced them to take measures to improve the resilience of their infrastructures (Industrial Cybersecurity Center, Best practices for cybersecurity diagnosis in industrial environments, Madrid, 2014). Industrial organizations operating critical infrastructure are prime targets for cybercriminals. For example, one of the most infamous cyberattacks was a campaign against industrial control systems, known by the codename “Dragonfly.” According to technical reports, attackers exploited a variety of techniques, including attaching malware to third-party programs, e-mails, and websites to gain access to numerous computer systems. By doing so, the attackers were able to mount sabotage operations that could have disrupted energy supplies across several European countries and the USA (Nabin, Cyber security training for critical infrastructure protection: a literature review. Internet. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1574013721000010, 2021). Pipeline infrastructure has become increasingly dependent on automation. A compromise of pipeline systems could result in explosions, equipment destruction, unanticipated shutdowns, and downstream impacts to National Critical Infrastructures and therefore, impact the national safety. Understanding the unique consequences, characteristics, challenges, and particularities of industrial automation and control systems is vital when designing an effective cybersecurity strategy for any company that operates pipelines.