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Protecting cyber-physical systems from attack

Kirsten Doyle
By Kirsten Doyle, ITWeb contributor.
Johannesburg, 12 May 2022

In February 2021, an attacker managed to remotely access a system at a water treatment plant in Florida in the US, and tried to increase the amount of sodium hydroxide in the water supply to levels that were dangerous to human health.


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Fortunately, an operator discovered the attack before anyone was harmed, but the event shone the spotlight on the potential for serious damage when the cyber and physical systems collide.

These systems come hand in and with a slew of risks that many security and risk leaders have yet to consider, firstly because cyber-physical systems cannot be protected by traditional security approaches. These systems don’t only process data, they also manage and optimise physical outcomes, and even whole ecosystems, such as the water supply mentioned above.

To unpack what is happening with the security of cyber-physical systems, Amritesh Anand, GM pre-sales, In2IT Technologies, will be presenting on “Addressing the challenges of cyber-physical systems security”, at the ITWeb Security Summit 2022, to be held at the Sandton Convention Centre from 31 May to 2 June.

During his presentation, he will explain why security for cyber-physical systems is more challenging and complex than enterprise IT security.

He will teach delegates how to understand the vulnerabilities within these systems and discuss the specific systems that hackers have targeted recently, giving real-world examples.

Finally, he will delve into what companies with mission-critical infrastructure can do to protect their cyber-physical systems.

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