Cyber crime rates are escalating, and threats are developing at an advanced rate.
It should bring a chill to anyone's spine.
And it doesn’t look like it's going to slow down anytime soon.
It'll only get worse, especially for the mining industry.
With the rising threats that come along with new technologies, extensive IT cyber security services and protocols are critical for any organization to keep itself safe from threats.
Many mining organisations in Australia don’t consider cyber threats as a great risk. Some departments are even unaware of these risks. The worst case scenario is they may have already been exposed to some of them and not even known.
Cyber security is not always a high priority for mining organisations because they think they're an unlikely target for attacks. Contrary to what mining executives in Australia think, their organization is a hotspot for cyber-attacks with their major shift to digital technologies. This puts them at greater risks that could cause significant (and sometimes irreversible) outcomes.
Mining organisations should dig for success, not data breaches. The time to enforce cyber security for your mining facility is now. Make your business a digital fortress and protect your precious data from cyber criminals.
Cyber Security Threats to the Mining industry
Incorporating digital technologies into operational processes has brought a myriad of benefits to the mining industry, such as opportunities for growth, boosted productivity, and reduced production costs.
But with it came a bunch of cyber risks that could wreak havoc on your operational and business systems.
Have a look at the most common cyber security threats to mining organisations.
Corporate Espionage
Although not exclusive to the mining industry, corporate espionage is a lingering problem for businesses even before switching to digital operations.
Cyber espionage campaigns are orchestrated by competitors and/or nation-states who want to steal mining data through spyware. They gather stolen data such as business strategies, sales reports, merger documents, etc. to gain a competitive advantage.
Supply Chain Risks
Getting cyber attacked doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s corporate espionage or an employee unknowingly interacted with a phishing email. Sometimes, attackers can launch successful attacks through the supply chain. Specifically, your third-party suppliers who have poor cyber security.
Once the bad guys successfully infiltrated your third-party’s IT system, they can gain access to your mining organisation’s corporate network where a virus would take control of your ICS (industrial control system) equipment and/or IT environment that could ultimately shut down your operation technology systems.
The unexpected shutdowns of your primary control systems can make the working conditions of the mine site unsafe for workers. Other disasters such as system crashes, data breaches, and ransomware are also highly probable.
Email Phishing
Disguised as an email link or attachment, a phishing tactic’s goal is to bait you into sharing your credentials and use them to infiltrate your accounts.
In the mining industry, they aim to phish for your login information to access your corporate accounts and network and ultimately take control of the mining operations.
Usually, they do this to successfully execute ransomware where they will lock you out of your network or encrypt your data in exchange for money. Not having access to your systems can cause operational delays, mine site shutdowns, or unsafe mining conditions for staff.
Recommended reading: What is Phishing and why you shouldn't take the bait
What can happen if you don’t have cybersecurity in your Mining IT
Say your IT network was hacked through phishing, and the cyber criminals were able to gain admin access to your OT (operational technology) system and ICS equipment.
They will have complete control of your mine’s monitoring systems, ventilation units, on-site monitors for pipeline or gas, and automated equipment.
From the example above, it’s clear that a cyber breach brings major consequences to a mining organisation whether it was intentional or accidental. It can trigger operation shutdowns or overall mine system failure that ultimately compromises worker and community safety.
Production and Revenue Loss
When a mining company has little to no cyber security protocols, its data can easily be accessible to criminals through phishing and social engineering. This often leads to getting confidential information stolen or the inability to access the operation software which ultimately leads to shitting operations down and losing revenue.
Reputation Damage
When an organisation has fallen victim to a data breach, customers start to second guess their capabilities as a business. This is one of the first signs of business downfall. Some companies can bounce back after years from their data breach scandal, but some aren’t so lucky.
Damaged customer loyalty comes a loss of sales.
Revenue comes from customers and when your data and system gets infiltrated, held for ransom, or stolen, it damages customer service and creates a negative environmental impact that would cause you to lose customers.
Infrastructure Shutdowns
For example, a hacker found your credentials for sale on the dark web and they were able to hijack the mine’s system using your admin access due to the lack of authentication, taking full control of our tailing and ventilation units and monitoring and automated systems which puts people and the environment at risk.
Without proper mining IT protocols in place, a data breach can completely disrupt the production process forcing executives to shut down mining operations until the breach is mitigated.
In a worst-case scenario, a hacker with full remote access to your PLCs (programmable logic controllers), OT, and ICS equipment can disrupt your operations at will without you even knowing it was happening until it’s too late.
How you can protect your mining data?
Protecting your mining organisation from cyber attacks doesn’t just stop at the technological level. Because no matter how advanced your cyber security is, if your team is not aware of the dangers, then your organisation is still vulnerable to exploitation.
Everyone in the organisation should do their part at keeping it safe as well. In fact, most data breaches are caused by human error.
The first line of defence against cyber-attacks is knowing what they are, and how to spot them.
Establishing cyber security protocols will serve as your shield against evolving cyberattacks. Your organisation should have a prevention and recovery plan in case of a potential breach.
Security Awareness Training
The overall team’s behavior plays an important role in keeping your mining IT operations safe.
A company with no security awareness training for employees can still be a tempting invitation to cyber criminals to infiltrate their IT, no matter how sophisticated their defences are.
Many mining employees, especially in operations, assume that they’re unlikely targets for cyber attacks when in fact, they’re the most vulnerable of the bunch. With the implementation of new equipment integrated with digital technology, controllers are prone to harmful data manipulation that can seriously hinder mining operations.
Malware can infect an IT environment in many ways, from employees using unknowingly infected portable media devices to phishing and social engineering. The goal of these cyber risks may vary, but one thing is for sure, you don’t want them in your IT system.
Implementing basic security awareness training, especially for mining executives and operations employees will work hand in hand with your cyber security investments.
Ideally, a monthly or quarterly refresher class would suffice so you can continually stay safe online against modern-day cyber-attacks.
Threat Hunting
Cyber security is not a set-and-forget type of thing. It is a layer of security that will serve as a shield against bad guys. But that defence will weaken over time, especially now that deceitful IT geeks are getting craftier by the day.
IT is all about innovation, and when you’re dealing with sensitive mining data, you can’t afford for your cyber security to be retroactive. Because if it is, your mining operations and corporate security controls won’t be strong enough to detect, let alone defend your valuable data.
With consistent system health checks with your IT service provider, you can find gaps within your system and patch them early on that could be potential loopholes cybercriminals might use to invade your mining operation and security controls.
Dark web analysis is another method you can take with your IT service provider to detect dangers before they happen. Exposed credentials are a company-wide risk, and this would check if your data, such as employee logins, are for sale on the dark web.
You should be able to discover exact email addresses and passwords on sale with expert suggestions on mitigating these risks.
Companies, not just mining in general, are resistant to patching their IT vulnerabilities, especially to their legacy operating system. Because they’re concerned with unexpected disruptions and costly downtime, this worry can come with a price.
Once these vulnerabilities are left unpatched, the system is open for exploitation and attacks, which can cause worse problems than downtime.
A proactive approach to IT is the best defence.
Regular health checks, dark web scans, and risk analysis can provide substantial insights into keeping your OT systems safe from cyber predators and other disasters.
Third-Party & Supplier Audits
Businesses are like a spider web of partnerships. They enhance overall performance and capabilities by branching out to third-party companies and suppliers. Although these partnerships provide substantial opportunities, data privacy should still be your number one concern.
Are you confident that your data is safe in the hands of your third-party partners and vendors?
Alleviating supply chain risks are critical in the mining industry to minimise any possible cybersecurity breaches and hacks from partners and suppliers. Consider your third-party risk management strategy as your first and last line of defence against cyber security threats.
Running regular third-party risk management audits of your vendors and partners ensures they’re capable of safeguarding your data. This would help you find vulnerabilities in their programs and make informed decisions without compromising your data privacy.
Back Up & Restoration
Although this is a critical component in any mining IT protocol, not many organisations prioritise or even implement data backups and restoration strategies.
Data is the backbone of any business, especially in the mining industry. And when data loss occurs without any onsite or offsite backup under your belt, then you just lost your data forever.
Of course, having cyber security for mining operations would be beneficial, but that’s not enough.
As data loss can happen anytime to anyone, a proactive business will have several copies of their data both onsite and offsite, so in case of intentional or accidental disasters, you can get back to business in no time.
Mining Cyber Security: Major Takeaways
I can’t stress enough how important cyber security is for any organisation, especially mining because there’s a lot at stake, from data loss and PR damage to loss of life.
Imagine that… all your hard work was all for nothing due to a lack of cyber defence that could have been easily prevented.
A proactive approach to IT doesn’t just include fancy systems and automated operations. It needs a secured infrastructure to keep cyber-criminals at bay and prevent them from wreaking havoc on what would have been a successful mining organisation.
Can your current mining IT withstand cyber incidents and disasters?
Get a free IT Health Check for your organisation today, and we'll personally show you a detailed rundown of your current IT status and vulnerabilities.
