Cybersecurity- The Hidden Lines of Defence You Never See

Think of the most common day‑to‑day activity you perform; like visiting a hospital and getting your treatment done, turning on your switch to get electricity, or just getting water from your tap. As small as these problems may seem, have you ever wondered how a small disruption in them could potentially bring your life to a halt and could even be dangerous?

If you have, then you should probably know that all these different sectors of our cities and towns such as our power, water systems, our hospitals, our traffic lights and all of the critical infrastructure is controlled by special systems that make sure a situation like that never happens and help make your life easier and efficient on a scale way bigger than you can imagine.

The Control Systems Behind Critical Infrastructure

In the world of cybersecurity, they are called control systems. And unlike the small computer at your home, these are big, special computers managing complex, essential tasks of our day‑to‑day life.

To have a more clear understanding of what we’re talking about, let’s assume these systems are like the butlers controlling pretty much everything in your house, so that you can have a clean home, well‑cooked meal and your bed all ready when you come back home.

Outdated Technology in a Connected World

You can’t really see the butler, but you know that he is the one working behind the scenes. But here’s the catch – these special computers i.e. control systems that control our water system, power, our hospital equipment, and even manage the heat in our office buildings are old. And even though they are now connected to the internet to work efficiently, their systems are outdated, unable to keep up with modern‑day threats and dangers that come with connecting to the world of the internet.

Like your old butler who would assume the neighbourhood is as safe as it used to be back in the day and opens the door to everyone well‑meaning, but unaware that the neighbourhood has changed, people can now attack, vandalize or plan an organised robbery. Yet you still have the same butler to deal with all these new dangers.

These control systems that run such vital sectors of our community are unable to defend themselves. They can be manipulated, and we can lose control of our critical infrastructure. This is what makes cybersecurity crucial in today’s day and age.

When Cyber Threats Turn into Real‑World Damage

Like in 2010, a virus in the control system of a facility containing fast‑spinning machines in Iran caused the machines to spin way faster than the recommended speed. They got out of control, causing millions of dollars worth of damages to the facility. This was the first time in history that computer attacks destroyed physical things.

Similarly, in 2015–16 the power sector of Ukraine was attacked, depriving people of heat and electricity in the middle of winter while hospitals had to use their backup power to keep things going.
And another similar attack resulted in blocked medical files and hospital equipment. Critical patients suffered as doctors couldn’t provide them the care they needed due to the cyber attack.

Why Aging Control Systems Are Easy Targets

Such dangerous events mainly occur because many of our control systems are 30–40 years old and still connected to the internet. This is like a doorway for basically anyone to gain access without enough barriers or security to filter out who should or shouldn’t be gaining access to them.

Strengthening Our Digital Defences

Just the way modern dangers require you to have security guards to protect your old butler or give him better instructions, control systems that don’t require the internet to work shouldn’t be connected to it. Or they can be programmed to allow only those with a unique identification to gain access.

We can also make sure that not every system opens the same way, to make them less vulnerable to the enemy.

Cybersecurity Is Everyone’s Responsibility

While this might seem a job for the experts only, whether you work in an important place or run your own business you have to know how these systems are protected, particularly the one in your office.

Never take computer safety training lightly so you can see and alert on time if any unusual activity is spotted. It is crucial to stay informed and support all initiatives taken to protect your critical infrastructure.

More than Computers: Protecting Our Way of Life:

As the modern digital world advances, we are learning new ways to better protect our systems and create efficient, up‑to‑date control systems. But this surge of technical knowledge also helps the enemy in finding new ways to scam, manipulate and control our systems.

That’s why countries should be investing more into their cybersecurity and doing all they can to protect their critical infrastructure. Because this is the modern form of warfare and the only way to defend is to take precaution well before time  and continue educating ourselves to stay ahead of whatever threats may come in the future.

Because this is not about protecting a few big complex computers – it’s about protecting your way of life.

Written by: Ovais Ahmed