IT Consulting Firm Says Passwords Protect More Than Data

Modern businesses are driven by machines. More and more businesses have systems that do not require human intervention. Therefore, their processes are automated and continuous, and, as such, for most organizations, technology is all there is. The infrastructure behind this is Operational Technology or OT, says an IT consulting firm. This OT controls physical processes as opposed to office IT systems and guides machines effectively and in a safe manner. Because of this, it is relied on by production lines while control panels rely on it. It is run by monitoring systems and sensors, and OT makes sure things occur in a proper and safe manner. 

IT Consulting Firm Talks About the Overlooked Security Gap 

Although it is a good sign for a business to have an OT, it must be noted that a good number of OT systems are years old. At that time, they were constructed reliably and safely but not with cybersecurity as a priority. However, since that time, threats have changed rapidly, says an IT consulting firm. And although there is an improvement in security standards in other places, regrettably, OT protection usually falls behind. Unfortunately, this one weakness is extremely fundamental. The password practice is often weak. Furthermore, shared accounts remain common. In some cases, the passwords can be left unchanged for years. This is because isolation in the past minimized risk and OT systems was hardly connected to the outside world. Nowadays, however, the IT and OT worlds tend to be interconnected. 

Why Weak Passwords Create Real Risks, Explained by an IT Consulting Firm 

In the case of IT and OT interconnection, the risk is stretched. A hacked office email address, for example, can be a backdoor, explained by an IT consulting firm. In some cases, attackers may move through systems which can be easy with password reuse. Unfortunately, the effects do not end with stolen data. Production lines can be stopped without warning and equipment can suffer damage, added an IT consulting firm. Furthermore, the safety of employees can be compromised on top of the revenue being affected by operational disruptions. Adding this all up, the cost of recovery and business continuity rises rapidly. Therefore, prevention is much more effective. 

Simple Steps Strengthen Protection 

Enhancing password security produces good results, explained by an IT consulting firm. The measures can be explained in a few steps, such as having longer passwords that are more difficult to crack. Moreover, lateral movement is blocked by unique passwords. In the same vein, adding the use of multi-factor authentication ensures important protection. This is because multi-factor authentication involves a second authentication process. This could be a phone code so that even the stolen passwords become useless. 

Protect Operations and People 

OT systems operate quietly in a secure state, and as such, risks are hard to notice because they are invisible. However, these systems manage real-world processes daily. Security should be as important as processes, and good password policies are not flashy. Nevertheless, they are very effective. OT keeps your people safe. It protects the equipment and continuity. Some disciplined modifications bring long-term security gains. 

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