Industrial control systems in the Middle East remained highly targeted by ransomware and spyware in the second half of 2022

According to Kaspersky ICS CERT, in the second half of 2022, Kaspersky security solutions globally blocked 6% more malware families on industrial automation systems than in the first half of the year and 147% more than in the second half of 2021. Compared to other regions, the Middle East remains highly targeted by ransomware attacks. Africa tops the regional rankings with most ICS computers targeted using removable devices. In Turkiye throughout 2022 there was an increase in attacks blocked in multiple industries, including building automation, energy and engineering. 

In the second half of 2022 in the Middle East the percentage of ICS computers on which spyware was blocked was 9.8%, which is a high figure compared to the global figure of 7.1%. In terms of other malware categories attacking ICS in the Middle East, malicious scripts and denylisted internet resources top the list with 14,5% and 10,3% attacks stopped. Malicious scripts and phishing pages are distributed both online and via email. 

Other categories of malicious objects that were blocked on ICS computers in the Middle East include malicious documents (4,8%), worms (4%), viruses (3,3%), crypto-miners for web browsers (3%). When observing geographical regions.  

The situation with the number of attacks blocked varied across different industries. In the Middle East, the most targeted industries in the second half of 2022 were building automation (in this sector attacks were blocked on 38,9% ICS computers), energy (38,3%), and engineering (35,9%).

“Overall, 2022 stands out for its abnormal absence of any seasonal changes. Our team observed a steadily high rate of attacks on industrial sectors – without a typical drop in attacks during summer vacations or winter holidays period. However, the growing attack rates in industrial sectors, that are being conducted using social engineering, seem alarming. We strongly recommend customers in these sectors to revise their existing approach to security and check whether all security systems are up-to-date and their personnel is well-trained,” comments Kirill Kruglov, senior researcher at Kaspersky ICS CERT.

Read more about the ICS threat landscape in H2 2022 on the Kaspersky ICS CERT website.

To keep your OT computers protected from various threats, Kaspersky experts recommend:

• Conducting regular security assessments of OT systems to identify and eliminate possible cyber security issues.
• Establishing continuous vulnerability assessment and triage as a basement for effective vulnerability management process. Dedicated solutions like Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity may become an efficient assistant and a source of unique actionable information, not fully available in public.
• Performing timely updates for the key components of the enterprise’s OT network; applying security fixes and patches or implementing compensating measures as soon as it is technically possible is crucial for preventing a major incident that might cost millions due to the interruption of the production process.
• Using EDR solutions such as Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response for timely detection of sophisticated threats, investigation, and effective remediation of incidents.
• Improving the response to new and advanced malicious techniques by building and strengthening your teams’ incident prevention, detection, and response skills. Dedicated OT security trainings for IT security teams and OT personnel is one of the key measures helping to achieve this.