The Global State of CPS Security 2024: Business Impact of Disruptions
An analysis of the financial and operational impact of cyberattacks affecting mission-critical infrastructure
Claroty presents the results of an independent global survey of 1,100 cybersecurity professionals who are tasked with securing cyber-physical systems (CPS). The survey sought to understand from cybersecurity leaders their experiences combating cyberattacks affecting CPS, particularly focusing on the financial impact and business disruptions resulting from incidents.
View the Report
Key findings include:
1. Cybersecurity Incidents Affecting CPS Result in Steep Financial Losses
Nearly half of respondents (45%) reported a financial impact of $500,000 USD or more in the last 12 months from cyber attacks affecting CPS, with over a quarter (27%) reporting $1 million or more. Several factors contributed to these losses, the most common being lost revenue (selected by 39% of respondents), recovery costs (35%), and employee overtime (33%).
2. Ransomware Still Plays Heavily into Recovery Costs
Over half of respondents (53%) met ransom demands of more than $500,000 USD to recover access to encrypted systems and files in order to resume operations. This problem is particularly severe in the healthcare sector – 78% reported ransom payments over $500,000.
3. Consequential Operational Impacts Felt by Organizations Worldwide
Nearly half of respondents globally (49%) experienced more than 12 hours of operational downtime resulting from a cyberattack in the last year, and one-third (33%) reported at least a full day of downtime. About half (49%) said the recovery process took a week or more and nearly a third (29%) said recovery took over a month.
4. A Remote Access and Supply Chain Problem
45% of respondents said at least half of their organization’s CPS assets are connected to the internet; the most common connection method is through a virtual private network (VPN), selected by 36% of respondents, which lack CPS-specific security controls. 82% of respondents said at least one cyber attack in the past 12 months originated from third-party supplier access to the CPS environment.
5. Resilience Strategies are Paying Off in Risk Reduction
Respondents expressed growing confidence in their organization’s risk reduction efforts, indicating a growing maturity around the defense of CPS environments; most respondents (56%) have greater confidence in the ability of their organization’s CPS to withstand cyber attacks today versus 12 months ago.
