Introduction #
Assessing and Penetration testing of Industrial Control Systems (ICS) is our specialized service that aims to assess the security and resilience of critical infrastructure and industrial processes against cyber attacks. ICS are systems that monitor and control physical processes, such as power generation, water treatment, manufacturing, transportation, and more.
Due Diligence #
Testing OT environments comes with a lot of risk to production, so must be a significantly different approach than often used when testing IT. There’s a real threat to Life, the Environment, and Production if that production happens to be Critical Infrastructure, the approach will be part Assessmemt and part Penetration Testing.
This is why we strongly recommend starting with an Assessment of your environments before jumping directly to the actual testing.
Benefits #
Some of the benefits of this service are;
- It can help identify and prioritize the vulnerabilities and risks in the ICS environment, such as misconfigurations, weak authentication, outdated software, or exposed interfaces.
- It can simulate realistic attack scenarios and test the effectiveness of the existing security controls and incident response procedures.
- It can provide actionable and customized recommendations to improve the security posture and mitigate the potential impacts of cyber attacks.
- It can demonstrate compliance with the relevant standards and regulations, such as NERC CIP, IEC 62443, or NIST SP 800-82.
Services #
Some of the services for penetration testing of ICS are:
Network Penetration Testing #
- Perform a comprehensive assessment of the ICS network, including the perimeter, the internal segments, and the communication channels.
- Use passive and active techniques to discover and map the network topology, the devices, and the services, and to identify and exploit any vulnerabilities or misconfigurations.
- Test network segmentation, conduits, firewall rules, encryption, and authentication mechanisms.
Device Penetration Testing #
- Detailed analysis of ICS devices, such as controllers, sensors, actuators, or human-machine interfaces.
- Use various methods to access and interact with the devices, such as serial, Ethernet, wireless, or optical connections.
- Test the firmware, the configuration, the logic, and the functionality of the devices, and identify and exploit any weaknesses or flaws.
Application Penetration Testing #
- Perform a thorough evaluation of the applications, including SCADA, HMI, or engineering software.
- Use standard and custom tools to test the web, desktop, or mobile applications, and to identify and exploit any vulnerabilities or bugs.
- Test the input validation, the output sanitization, the error handling, and the data protection mechanisms of the applications.
Social Engineering Penetration Testing #
- Realistic simulations of social engineering attacks against your personnel, such as operators, engineers, or managers.
- Use various techniques, such as phishing, vishing, baiting, or impersonation, to manipulate and influence the human factor, to gain access to the ICS environment, information, or credentials.