Take a walk down to your lower equipment room. Usually, there’s a workspace for your ETs and sometimes your contractors – seismic, cementing, wireline – go in to make sure their deck skids are hooked into the network. What’s that box on the bottom of the server cabinet? These are the servers that handle the top drive with access to everything to the drill floor.
It’s incredible what they have done. Someone upgraded routers and switches for additional Ethernet ports, added PLC’s so they can see additional information (like pressures, temperatures, etc.) and even modified the HMI screens so they see (only for the Maintenance Super’s PC) the new information. Wow, the Internet of Things on steroids and all done without a Management of Change (MOC) process.
Why do you care?
These are direct entry points to your operational technology network. The only way you found them was by literally stumbling over them. You don’t know who’s getting the data being collected or how secure their connections are to your network. You are incredibly vulnerable to cyber-attacks and mis-use of your data.
What can you do about it?
This is a really simple solution: enforce the MOC process you currently have onboard your asset. You don’t have to invent anything new. Just do what your processes direct and you’ll eliminate one of the major issues – You don’t have an inventory of what is attached to your networks.
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Internet of Things(IoT) and Industrial Control Systems(ICS)