Threats against industrial infrastructure highlighted at Dragos event

Dragos recently held an event at the Sheraton Hotel, Doha, Qatar focussed on securing industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT) from cyber-threats.

The event comprised of talks and demos that allowed stakeholders, including IT and OT leaders, to see up close the dangers posed to their infrastructures by the modern threat landscape.

The event concentrated on exploring ways of countering the increased sophistication and severity of attacks on oil and gas, manufacturers, utilities and other organisations around the world. It also highlighted the complexities of implementing robust and coherent cybersecurity strategies in OT environments.

“Digital transformation is pivotal to the bolstering of industrial sectors by regional governments as they seek to diversify their economies,” said Omar Al Barghouthi, Regional Director, Middle East, Dragos.

“But threat groups see their opportunity to hit mission-critical infrastructure and bring businesses to their knees. Following the success of the FIFA World Cup, Qatar will now look to the world class infrastructure it built across the country and devise ways to secure that investment.

“This will require the right security controls and capabilities,” added Al Barghouthi. “As a global OT security leader, Dragos has the capabilities and expertise to play a critical role in securing these assets, which is why we expanded into the Qatari market.

“We believe we can play a strong supporting role in the furtherance of Qatar National Vision 2030, through which the nation will become an advanced society capable of sustainable development.”