Kaspersky report reveals frequent issues in industrial IT networks

Kaspersky has released a report indicating that one in three industrial companies regularly face network problems, with 45% of businesses experiencing them several times a month.

The report underscores the challenges faced by industrial enterprises operating geographically distributed infrastructures, which can result in logistical issues, communication barriers, and IT vulnerabilities.

Factories, branch offices, and other critical facilities situated across different sites primarily contribute to these complications.

Industrial companies not only deal with infrastructural challenges but also with IT and information security issues. The Kaspersky report, titled 'Managing geographically distributed businesses: challenges and solutions', notes that 49% of manufacturing firms found detecting and resolving cybersecurity incidents the most daunting task. Furthermore, 46% of these companies identified monitoring the implementation of security measures as difficult, while 42% faced hurdles in establishing a cohesive security policy.

Network issues such as failures and outages, poor service performance, and insufficient connection capacity are common, with nearly 30% of respondents experiencing them regularly. Data shows that 38% deal with these challenges one to three times monthly, 28% face them every couple of months, and 7% encounter them weekly.

The time needed to restore network operations after a failure varies. Most respondents (74%) reported needing between one and five hours for restoration. Additionally, 15% stated they required no more than one hour, while 10% needed up to a full working day. These downtimes can lead to considerable financial and reputational damage, emphasizing the importance of preventing network interruptions and swiftly addressing them when they occur.

Maxim Kaminsky, Business Development Manager (Secure Access Service Edge) at Kaspersky, commented, "Network issues in industrial enterprises often result in delays, a decline in production levels, financial losses, and reputational risks. When a network goes down, communication and business processes are interrupted, employees lose access to crucial information, and all this leads to a drop in productivity and even erodes customer trust. Therefore, companies should protect their operations to ensure business continuity. By understanding the potential causes of network problems and implementing timely strategic measures, companies can combat these challenges and safeguard all the processes."

Kaspersky recommends several measures to minimise network problems and establish reliable protection. They suggest using OT XDR platforms such as Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity (KICS) for comprehensive asset and risk management, alongside Kaspersky SD-WAN for centralised network management across distributed locations. Combining these solutions enables companies to establish a centralised monitoring and protection system by integrating industrial network traffic management.