When critical industries in Canada are exposed to targeted cyber breach activity, the potential for serious economic harm is ever present. It’s therefore imperative that our extractive industry sector begin to prioritize investments towards achieving a higher degree of cybersecurity maturity.
While a number of mining companies have sophisticated risk management capabilities to address occupational health and safety risks, inhibit illegal mining activities and mitigate theft and loss; that same rigour is hardly applied to managing cyber risks, despite that such risks have escalated to a worrisome extent in recent years. Mining companies have quickly adopted emerging technologies such as Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Operational Technology (OT) but have failed to gain even the most basic threat visibility into these environments.
A more rigorous approach to cyber risk management in mining is needed. Such an approach must begin with developing a credible defensive strategy that is both risk informed and intelligence led. This can only happen when corporate boards are actively engaged in providing oversight on cybersecurity risks. It’s no longer considered adequate to delegate such responsibilities to an audit committee; representation for cybersecurity as a key business and operational risk on the board is now paramount.
If your organization is struggling to develop a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy; reach out to me and let’s get engaged in better understanding your unique threat and risk profile.
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