How Risk-Based Vulnerability Management Is a Game-Changer for OT Cybersecurity
Summary: Dragos describes risk-based vulnerability management for OT as an alternative to patch-all strategies, which it says are impractical and potentially dangerous because downtime in OT environments can cost millions or jeopardize human safety. The post illustrates the approach with a power distribution company that first rated a substation relay vulnerability as low priority, then escalated it after Dragos threat intelligence showed adversaries actively exploiting it in similar environments, applying network segmentation and scheduling a priority patch without interrupting operations.
Why it matters: The example turns on a single reclassification: a vulnerability already sitting in a substation relay was rated low until intelligence showed adversaries exploiting it elsewhere, and the response still had to avoid any interruption to operations. For a security leader, the stake is whether your vulnerability rankings are informed by what adversaries are actually exploiting in your kind of environment, or by severity scores alone.
Read the original at Dragos Blog ↗
- Topics
- OT / ICS & Critical Infrastructure
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