Leading analyst firms reveal how Acronis Cyber Protect fortifies OT cybersecurity resilience

Operational technology (OT) systems aren’t necessarily well known in many organizations, but they’re critical. OT systems control automation technology in manufacturing and other industrial settings, but they often don’t get the attention that classic IT gets. As a result, they can sometimes end up less secure than they should be. That is changing.

OT systems play an irreplaceable role in manufacturing. For instance, they monitor, configure and control the robots a manufacturer uses to put together cars and other complex pieces of machinery. OT systems are all over the manufacturing sector, from the oil and gas industry to biopharmaceuticals.

OT is critical to manufacturing operations; but system failure can lead to extremely costly factory downtime, missed production targets, angry customers and other dire consequences. There is even potential risk to the lives and well-being of people who work in factories.

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Cyberattacks on OT are a dangerous reality

So, successful cyberattack on an OT environment could lead to a much bigger disaster than even a typical data breach would. Ransomware attacks that can shut down entire manufacturing plants are now a very real danger.

In response, manufacturers have begun moving OT systems out of isolated environments and connecting them with cloud services and systems associated with traditional IT. As that shift continues, IT and cybersecurity teams are increasingly taking responsibility for protecting OT systems.

Manufacturers know that safeguarding OT environments is paramount. And while asset management and threat detection and response often take center stage, the ability to rapidly recover from incidents is equally critical.

Two recent analyst reports address the challenges of managing OT environments and offer details on how Acronis addresses those challenges with its Acronis Cyber Protect platform. In a recent “On the Radar” report from analyst firm Omdia, author and principal analyst Hollie Hennessy writes that Acronis offers robust backup, recovery and data security solutions tailored for OT environments. And in a separate recent report for technology research firm TAG Infosphere, founder and CEO Dr. Edward Amoroso, also a research professor at New York University, wrote about the importance of cyber resilience in OT environments and why Acronis is a leader in the field.

This blog post offers an overview of both reports.

Omdia report: The importance of cybersecurity resilience in OT

OT environments, which include critical infrastructure and industrial operations, face unique challenges. Downtime can lead to significant financial losses, regulatory penalties and anger from customers. A comprehensive cybersecurity strategy must therefore include a well-defined and tested backup and recovery plan.

As the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0 emphasizes, "recover" is a fundamental pillar of cybersecurity, alongside "Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond and Govern." Acronis Cyber Protect directly supports this pillar, enabling organizations to restore operations quickly and efficiently after a cyberattack or incident.

Acronis Cyber Protect: A powerful solution for OT recovery

Acronis Cyber Protect stands out as a compelling solution for OT environments due to several key strengths:

• Specialization for industrial needs: Acronis has designed its solution to meet the unique demands of industrial environments, including compatibility with legacy systems like Windows XP that are still prevalent in many OT settings.
• Live installation and backups: Unlike some solutions, Acronis Cyber Protect performs installation and backups without requiring systems to be taken offline or rebooted, minimizing disruption to operations.
• Universal Restore: Acronis enables recovery to any hardware or hypervisor, ensuring flexibility in restoring operations, even if the original hardware is compromised.
• Rapid recovery: Features like One-Click Recovery simplify the recovery process, enabling individuals without specialized IT or security expertise to restore systems quickly. This is especially valuable in remote locations or time-sensitive situations.
• Integrated security: The platform includes anti-malware scans and antivirus updates within the recovery process, ensuring that restored systems are protected against reinfection.
• Centralized management: The Centralized Acronis Monitoring Hub provides a unified dashboard for insights and control, facilitating analysis and integration with third-party software.

Channel-focused approach and strategic partnerships

Acronis has strong partnerships with leading industrial automation vendors such as ABB, Emerson, Siemens, Schneider Electric, Rockwell Automation and Yokogawa, which further solidify its position in the OT security space. This collaborative approach empowers Acronis to deliver its capabilities to a wider range of organizations and integrate seamlessly into existing industrial ecosystems.

A growing market opportunity

The OT security market is rapidly evolving, with increasing demand for solutions that address the full spectrum of cybersecurity needs. While many vendors focus on asset management, threat detection and prevention, Acronis fills a critical gap by providing specialized data protection and recovery capabilities.

Acronis Cyber Protect offers a robust and tailored solution for enhancing cybersecurity resilience in OT environments. Its focus on rapid recovery, compatibility with legacy systems and ease of use make it an attractive option for organizations seeking to minimize downtime and protect critical operations. As the OT security landscape continues to evolve, Acronis is well-positioned to play a key role in helping organizations achieve comprehensive cybersecurity.

TAG Infosphere report: Why OT resilience matters

Amoroso wrote for TAG Infosphere  about the importance of cyber resilience in OT environments and why Acronis is a leader in the field.  

Many OT environments are inherently vulnerable. They often rely on:

• Legacy systems: OT applications typically run on ancient PCs running obsolete versions of Windows or Linux, sometimes dating back to the Windows XP era. These systems are difficult to patch and update, creating easy entry points for attackers.
• Limited IT / security resources: OT environments are often remote (think of offshore oil platforms) and lack dedicated, security-trained staff on-site.
• Proprietary technology: Heterogeneous and proprietary systems create complexity and limit the effectiveness of traditional security tools.
• Failed perimeter security: The old approach of isolating OT networks behind IT / OT gateways hasn't worked. These perimeters are porous, neglect insider threats, and don't address core OT security weaknesses.

But the biggest challenge is fragile resilience. Many OT systems simply can't withstand a cyberattack or hardware failure without significant disruption. This is where backup and recovery come in as the most important focus for improving security.

Backup and recovery: The cornerstone of OT security

While comprehensive OT security requires addressing all the challenges mentioned above, focusing on robust backup and recovery solutions provides the biggest "bang for your buck." Why?

Rapid recovery, for starters. Effective backup and recovery allows you to quickly restore critical systems and data after a ransomware attack, sabotage or other destructive cyber event. This minimizes downtime and keeps your operations running.

Also critical is operational continuity. By ensuring you can recover quickly, you maintain business continuity and avoid potentially catastrophic consequences like production stoppages or safety system failures.

Acronis Cyber Protect: Purpose-built for OT resilience

Acronis Cyber Protect offers a comprehensive solution designed to address the unique challenges of OT environments. Here's how it helps manufacturers bolster their cyber resilience:

• Rapid recovery of OT systems: Acronis provides high-performance protection for OT computers, enabling swift restoration to prevent costly factory-floor outages.
• Universal computer recovery: Acronis Cyber Protect ensures quick, reliable recovery for any computer, including older legacy systems that date back to the Windows XP era, with options for bare-metal restoration.
• Customizable backup plans: Acronis Cyber Protect enables manufacturers to tailor backup plans to the specific requirements of OT and ICS environments, ensuring critical data and systems are adequately protected.
• Integration with third-party tools: A unified backup and recovery view with centralized control and integration options into third-party tools simplifies management and enhances operational efficiency.
• Data sovereignty options: Manufacturers can choose between in-house storage or utilize Acronis' global data centers, including options like Amazon S3 and Microsoft Azure, ensuring compliance with data sovereignty requirements.
• Self-service recovery for remote workers: Acronis provides self-service recovery options for remote workers, enabling nontechnical personnel to initiate recovery processes, effectively decentralizing IT workload and accelerating the return to operations post incident.
• Forensic backups: Manufacturers can simplify future analysis by collecting digital evidence from disk-level backups, crucial for compliance and internal investigations, and identifying attacks targeting critical infrastructure.
• Integrated disaster recovery: Acronis Cyber Protect makes quick restoration of IT or OT workloads possible after disasters, human errors, cyberattacks or hardware failures, with runbooks to automate recovery processes and test failovers.
• Compliance support: Acronis solutions support compliance with regulatory requirements like DORA and Basel Committee guidelines, offering adaptable risk management frameworks, incident response planning assistance and robust third-party oversight.

Beyond backup: A holistic approach

Acronis Cyber Protect isn't just about backup and recovery. It unifies backup, disaster recovery, AI-based malware protection, remote assistance and security tools into a single platform. This consolidation simplifies management and enhances efficiency for OT security teams. The platform's flexible architecture and APIs also support integration with third-party applications, empowering you to create a dynamic and adaptable security ecosystem.

Don't wait for a cyberattack to expose the vulnerabilities in your OT environment. By prioritizing backup and recovery and leveraging solutions like Acronis Cyber Protect, manufacturers can significantly improve their cyber resilience, protect their operations and avoid the potentially devastating consequences of a successful attack.

 Read the full Omdia report and the full TAG Infosphere report.