It’s been nearly two years now since the heinous Triton malware incident was initially publicized. Many specifics were never released for security reasons, but as readers might be aware, a very large petrochemical facility in Saudi Arabia observed one day that their safety system—the commonly deployed Triconex product by Schneider Electric—was engaging and shutting down production, yet no threat could be found. They brought in Schneider Electric and then malware experts including FireEye and soon discovered that the culprit was a piece of malware that had infected their system.

As many readers know, Belden is no stranger to the world of compact managed switches, and we’re proud of the fact that network operators have made the company the market leader with more than 700,000 units in active operation worldwide. 

Traditionally, the OT environment is built with a “set it and forget it” mentality. But, once the network is connected to the outside world, that model is no longer optimal. The network becomes dynamic, ever-changing and in constant interaction—most changes are legitimate, some are accidental and some, unfortunately, are nefarious.

Slowly but surely, the role of cyber security is increasing in importance in industrial and manufacturing organizations of all kinds. One key bit of proof is the growing number of Chief Information Security Officers—CISOs—being appointed to corporate C-Suites. While there was once no professional assigned to cyber security in most organizations, over the years the role had evolved to a management level position such as “Information Security Manager” in many places. Now, we are seeing the role take its rightful place among top executive positions, with a seat at the table alongside the Chief Operating Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Executive Officer and other C-Level leaders of the organization.

To help provide a flavor of the insights and experience that Tripwire makes available, we’re conducting one-on-one interviews with several Tripwire in-house experts. You may have seen some of their bylines in Belden’s industrial blog over the past couple of years, but in this new series we want to provide a more direct glimpse into each expert’s individual industry purview. Each of them will discuss their own personal views on the current state of cyber security in the industrial environment. You’ll learn more about how they have been working with Belden industrial customers to help bolster their network security and optimize their uptime in today’s challenging environment.