The COVID-19 pandemic revealed many uncomfortable truths about our modern world, and among the most jarring was the sudden sight of empty shelves at retailers, grocery stores, and more. Around the world, this was a stark reminder of how much the world relies on a complex web of supply chains, and how little we notice them until they suddenly stop working.
What’s more, this complex web isn’t just limited to physical stores, trucks, and warehouses. It’s largely composed of cyber-physical systems (CPS) that control the physical operations of modern supply chains. This has largely been brought about by digital transformation and the convergence of IT and operational technology (OT), which extends far beyond the factory floor and into the digital realm.
As CPS continues to proliferate, however, so does the threat landscape it faces. Exposures such as unsecured internet-facing CPS, direct connectivity to the internet, ransomware, and other forms of cyber attacks continue to plague CPS at record levels. Given the sensitive nature of what CPS protects, threat actors are finding them to be an increasingly lucrative target.
The Invisible Digital Backbone of Modern Logistics
First, it’s crucial to identify and understand the connectivity between the digital and physical worlds that power the global supply chain. Some examples include:
Intelligent Transportation Systems
Networks of sensors embedded in roads, bridges, and vehicles collect real-time data to optimize routing, reduce congestion, and ensure timely delivery of goods. These systems aren’t simply nice-to-have bonuses; they’ve become all but essential for supply chains to function efficiently.
Autonomous Vehicles
From self-driving trucks being tested on highways to fully autonomous robots in warehouses, autonomous vehicles are powered by a multitude of sensor arrays and decision-making algorithms. To illustrate how complex these vehicles are, a single self-driving truck can generate terabytes of data that must be processed in milliseconds.
Supply Chain Monitoring Systems
These provide the visibility demanded by modern logistics systems. Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, internet of things (IoT) sensors, and GPS trackers are now following products from the factory floor to store shelves, providing suppliers with real-time information that includes location, condition, and estimated time of arrival. As long as these systems are online, companies have a key piece in meeting customer expectations.
Predictive Maintenance Platforms
These consist of AI-powered sensors that detect potential failures before they occur. They’re often embedded in trucks, trains, and materials handling equipment, and help companies save time and money on costly repairs that can disrupt supply chains. While the shift from reactive to predictive maintenance has improved reliability, it’s also created huge dependencies for the daily operations of companies.
When Supply Chains Are Targeted
Dependencies on such technologies create potential vulnerabilities that attackers can easily exploit. Even worse, since supply chains are inherently complex with numerous third parties and shared platforms involved, the attack surface stretches far and wide.
In 2024, German-based battery manufacturer Varta was hit by a ransomware attack that forced production to stop at five of its facilities worldwide. The result of the attack was a cascading failure that kept these facilities offline for weeks, and the costs of recovery were unknown.
In a recent survey of 1,100 engineers, security leaders, OT engineers, and facilities managers, 46% said they’d experienced a breach via third-party access, and gaps in vendor contracts were only discovered after the incident occurred.
Due to the highly integrated nature of these systems, as previously mentioned, the stakes are particularly high in these scenarios. And because modern supply chains are built to emphasize efficiency instead of resilience, a disruption of any kind in digital systems can affect the flow of goods almost instantaneously.
Protecting the Systems That Keep Goods Moving
With CPS becoming more integral to logistics and supply chains, protecting them requires an approach that bridges the gap between IT and OT. Some strategies include:
Comprehensive Asset Inventory
Of course, you can’t protect what you can’t see. Getting a complete asset inventory of each device throughout a complex network environment should be the first step in protecting it. Then, once assets are identified, they should be prioritized for protection based on potential risk and business impact factors, ensuring business continuity in the event of a breach.
Third-party Access Management
Every remote connection from a logistics partner, contractor, or other third party presents a potential point of entry for an attacker. Security strategies have to change to adapt to this, and that includes implementing granular access controls, continuous monitoring, and ideally, a zero trust security framework. Additionally, having at least some visibility into a third-party security posture can help get in front of incidents before they reach an enterprise network. This will significantly reduce the attack surface of a complex environment that could suffer a breach without being noticed for long stretches of time.
Network Segmentation
If an attacker gains access to a network, it can be potentially easy for the attacker to move laterally through the network undetected, creating even more havoc. Segmentation of a network into separate virtual zones, ideally by riskiest device, can limit their movement and contain the threat before more damage can be done.
Proactive Threat Detection
Effective detection of threats for logistics and supply chain environments goes beyond where traditional IT tools can go. Protecting these environments requires alerting and comprehensive integrations with monitoring platforms to ensure the quickest mean-time-to-detect. This limits potential impacts to the business and any regulatory compliance headaches.
The Stakes of Supply Chain Security
The stakes of protecting supply chain and logistics environments go well beyond protecting data. The consequences of attacks on these environments can extend into the real world, affecting not only goods and services, but also public safety. Medication won’t reach hospitals. Fresh food spoils in delayed shipments. Manufacturing lines come to a grinding halt. The complex web that powers our modern lives can stumble before we even realize it.
That’s why partnering with the right CPS protection provider can be a huge difference-maker. With industry-leading protection found in the Claroty Platform, organizations can get holistic protection for complex environments such as supply chains. With comprehensive asset inventory and exposure management capabilities, every device can be discovered, prioritized, and protected. And using xDome Secure Access can keep attackers out while maintaining business as usual for authorized users.
For more information, request a live demo of the platform, or read more about how Claroty can help you secure your supply chain environment.
