When you have a job to do, tools that are simple to use and designed for your industry go a long way towards helping you achieve results. In the area of ICS security the Belden philosophy is that industrial security needs to be simple in order to be effective.

The Internet of Things means more and more devices are being connected to industrial networks. And these “things” aren’t just the controllers and related computers “owned” by the OT department or the computers and network devices “owned” by the IT department.

Recently a previously identified malware, named Duqu, re-emerged in a very surprising way. It was detected attacking the systems of Kaspersky Lab, one of the leading cyber security firms in the world. And, it wasn’t just that it went after the experts’ systems that is amazing, what is also amazing is how it did it.

“Engineers not specializing in cyber security often throw their hands up at security, it’s not what they do,” says Pat Differ, Director of Sales at Securicon LLC, a consulting firm specializing in cyber security services and solutions for critical infrastructure industries. “The result is they may end up relying heavily on IT-oriented or recommended solutions that are not meant for industrial applications.”

Remember the good old days when the control network stood on its own and no one but engineering could touch it? There were no connections to the enterprise network or the Internet. Cyber attackers were happy focusing on financial institutions, and the operations staff was free to just get on with making products.