When brute force attacks shut down operations and force mines to pay a ransom, "intelligent mining" activities have emerged as the gold mine for cybercriminals.
Dr. Pierre Jacobs, the head of cybersecurity operations and compliance at CyberAntix, a member of the Sizwe Africa IT Group, holds this opinion.
According to him, cyber security breaches have reached a point where they have legalised this dishonest behaviour, giving criminals the opportunity to commit cybercrimes in conditions that are very similar to those of legitimate organisations. Lone hackers are still around and may wish to stop production for fun or to see how far they can go.
“South African mining companies are no exception,” Jacobs stated. “The transition from traditional mining practices to intelligent mining is exposing the industry to a new frontier of cyber threats.”
74% of internet businesses have had serious Computer breaches, according to Fortinet research, and this problem was made worse by the Covid-19 outbreak. With an 11% increase in network intrusions, the mining and manufacturing industries in particular experienced a sharp rise in infiltration activity.
Attackers are focusing their efforts on Industrial Control Systems (ICS) in a variety of industries because these systems regulate a wide range of automated processes, including measuring devices, packaging equipment, and all the other assembly-line parts that are essential to any production process. Attackers are aware that by focusing on these systems, they might negatively impact business operations.
Although ICS devices are frequently specific to industries and used for specialised systems or activities, they are normally less well-known than enterprise information technology (IT) devices like laptops, desktops, and smartphones. In this sector, cybercriminal activity is becoming more organised and specialised.
The bulk of cyberattacks on mining businesses aim to disrupt corporate operations and threaten supply chains by stealing intellectual property and other important data, such as geotechnical studies and production plans.
According to Jacobs, the Internet of Things (IoT) is a threat to mines with any amount of automation (IoT).
Criminals frequently use email platforms as their first method of entry in all sectors.
Any of these devices—desktops, laptops, smartphones, even the workplace printer—can serve as entry points for hackers.
The fact is that mining operations in South Africa are also impacted by geopolitical concerns, rising geopolitical dangers, and intermittent conflicts between other nations, especially Western nations and China. Mines from throughout the world compete with South African exporters. Competitors worldwide would benefit from any disruption to our supply systems.
Cybersecurity breaches are caused by a number of factors, including a lack of understanding of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and the Internet of Things (IoT), supply chain weaknesses, lax security procedures used both internally and by outside contractors, identity theft, and insufficient incident response.
"Strategies to mitigate risk should seek to identify and understand the business models and motivation of the cyber criminals. Businesses also need to understand the risks and vulnerabilities of their industry and anticipate threats," Jacobs concluded. "People, processes, and technologies all pose risks, and to address cyber security threats, it’s important to take a three-pronged approach to security – one that focuses on people, processes, and technologies. The challenge is to secure the enterprise by locking all the information entrance gates to bridge any gaps in the system.
Identify critical business systems and then identify risks against those systems. Secure protocols need to be in place wherever there is a connection to the Internet. Real-time monitoring and investigation are vital."