Regular audits of peripherals and their interaction with the environment will allow defenders to pinpoint protocol violations . or the water running . But such systems also rely on data , some of which is sensitive .
The UAE government takes a strong position on this kind of information in its Personal Data Protection Law ( PDPL ), and fines for non-compliance can reach AED one million . Indeed , UAE enterprises are bound by a range of national , regional and international regulatory frameworks . Cyber-compliance in these frameworks now routinely includes a sensitivity towards peripheral and removable media and the risks they pose .
The on-going merger between IT and OT has expanded the attack surface considerably and all stakeholders recognise the potential harm that can emerge from failing to address vulnerabilities .
But when operating critical infrastructure , the major focus must be on operational continuity . Quite apart from other issues , a critical infrastructure organisation ’ s operational continuity has direct impact on many other organisations ’ ability to continue business operations . Depending on the infrastructure in question , one wrong move with a peripheral device could mean a standstill on a national scale .
What policies and protocols should organisations implement to mitigate the cybersecurity risks associated with peripheral devices and removable media ?
The concerns are real . The governance put in place to mitigate or block these vectors must live up to the threat they represent . First , formulate protocols for scanning any media that joins the network . These rules must include determinations of what media is allowed and what users are allowed to connect to them .
Then , uncompromisingly enforce those policies . Some modern scanning solutions can detect known and unknown threats on removable media . These solutions can be supplemented with additional layers of defence such as media firewalls , endpoint protection and managed file transfers .
Scanning at connection time is vital but so is visibility of the environment . ‘ Out of sight , out of mind ’ is relevant to cybersecurity teams . Half the battle is finding a vulnerable asset . The other half is keeping it in sight so that targeted threats can be identified and neutralised . Regular audits of peripherals
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