Engineering workstation compromises were the initial attack vector in 35% of all operational technology (OT) and industrial control system breaches in companies surveyed globally this year, doubling from the year earlier, according to research conducted by the SANS Institute and sponsored by Nozomi Networks.
While the number of respondents who said they had experienced a breach in their OT/ICS systems during the last 12 months dropped to 10.5% (down from 15% in 2021), one third of all the respondents said they did not know whether their systems had been breached or not.
For the 2022 SANS ICS/OT survey, 332 responses were received, representing verticals from the energy, chemical, critical manufacturing, nuclear, water management, and other industries.