Cybersecurity and process safety synergy: An analytical exploration of cyberattack‐induced incidents

Abstract

In recent years, cyber‐connected industrial control systems (ICS) for remote operations have increased cyber and process risks. While process safety is widely studied, its connectivity with the cyber threat has not been well explored. It is crucial to study cybersecurity and process safety in an integrated way to ensure safe operations. This study addresses this gap by first analyzing the cyber incidents related to ICS since 1990. Subsequently, it connects cyber incidents with process accidents by Bowtie based on the ATT&CK framework. It further develops a Bayesian network due to the insignificant probabilities by Bowtie. The developed model is explained with case analysis. This study confirms that the process industry is prone to cyberattacks, and the field controllers are the main targets of attacks. The study observes that the safety instrument system (SIS) is critical for both the attackers and neutralizing the attacks (defenders). Moreover, attackers deploy newer approaches to attack the ICS, and therefore, methods of threat assessment and its neutralizing strategies should be dynamic.