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Breaking Down the Dragos 2025 OT/ICS Cybersecurity Report: What Houston Energy & Manufacturing Companies Need to Know

Strengthening Industrial Resilience: Key Takeaways from the Dragos Report

Breaking Down the Dragos 2025 OT/ICS Cybersecurity Report: What Houston Energy & Manufacturing Companies Need to Know

The threats facing operational technology (OT) and industrial control system (ICS) environments continue to evolve at an alarming pace. The recently released Dragos 2025 OT/ICS Cybersecurity Report offers a comprehensive view of current threat activities and provides valuable insights for organizations looking to strengthen their industrial security posture.

 Key Findings from the Report

The Dragos 2025 report presents several concerning statistics that highlight the growing sophistication and frequency of attacks against industrial environments.

  • Ransomware attacks against industrial organizations increased by 87% compared to the previous year
  • 22% of vulnerability advisories contained incorrect data, hampering effective prioritization
  • 70% of vulnerabilities reside deep within the network (Purdue Level 3.5 and below)
  • 39% of analyzed advisories could cause both loss of view and loss of control
  • 60% more ransomware groups are targeting OT/ICS environments than in the previous year

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(Ransomware by Region – Source: Dragos 2025 OT/ICS Cybersecurity Report)

 The Evolving Threat Environment

Threat actors are becoming increasingly aware of OT systems and developing specific capabilities to target industrial operations. This shift represents a significant change in the threat environment, with implications for all critical infrastructure sectors.

 Active Threat Groups

Dragos currently tracks 23 threat groups targeting industrial systems, with 9 active in 2024. Two new groups were identified:

  1. GRAPHITE: Targets energy, oil and gas, logistics, and government sectors, primarily in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. They’ve conducted numerous campaigns achieving Stage 1 of the ICS Cyber Kill Chain.
  2. BAUXITE: Connected to the pro-Iranian hacktivist group CyberAv3ngers, BAUXITE has conducted multiple global campaigns targeting OT/ICS entities, including some with Stage 2 ICS Cyber Kill Chain impacts via compromises of exposed devices.

Previously known groups like KAMACITE, ELECTRUM, and VOLTZITE continued their operations with increasingly sophisticated techniques. VOLTZITE remains particularly concerning due to their dedicated focus on OT data, making them a significant threat to ICS asset owners and operators.

 ICS-Focused Malware

The report identifies new malware strains specifically designed to target industrial systems, highlighting a concerning trend of purpose-built tools to disrupt critical infrastructure.

Two new variants of ICS malware emerged in 2024, both connected to the Ukraine-Russia conflict:

  1. Fuxnet: Deployed by the hacktivist group BlackJack, this malware disrupted industrial sensors in Moscow by targeting Meter-bus communication.
  2. FrostyGoop: This malware modified instrument measurements of ENCO controllers, resulting in heating outages for over 600 apartment buildings in Ukraine during winter.

These examples highlight how ICS malware is increasingly being used as a tool in conflict-driven campaigns.

 Ransomware: A Growing Threat

Ransomware continues to pose a significant risk to industrial operations, with attacks growing in both frequency and impact. The financial and operational pressures these attacks create make them particularly effective against manufacturing and critical infrastructure.

The report shows manufacturing remains the top target for ransomware attacks, with more than 50% of all observed ransomware victims (1,171 attacks) in this sector. North America accounted for 58% of all ransomware attacks against industrial organizations.

 Managed IT Houston Cybersecurity

(Ransomware by Region – Source: Dragos 2025 OT/ICS Cybersecurity Report)

The most active ransomware groups targeting industrial organizations were RansomHub, Fog, and LockBit3.0. A concerning trend is the convergence of hacktivism and ransomware, with groups like Handala, Kill Security, and CyberVolk employing ransomware as part of their operations.

 Vulnerabilities and Exploitation Techniques

Understanding the common vulnerabilities and exploitation techniques used by threat actors can help organizations prioritize their defensive efforts and address the most critical security gaps.

The report identifies several critical vulnerability areas:

  1. Fieldbus Protocols: Research on CANopen protocol in servo drives revealed risks posed by “Turducken” protocols (layered application protocols) and the lack of detection mechanisms for these attacks.
  2. IoT Equipment: IoT devices in industrial environments present significant vulnerabilities, with many running inadequately hardened systems with default credentials and trivial infection mechanisms.
  3. DLL Hijacking: Dragos currently tracks 104 DLL hijacking vulnerabilities affecting industrial software. These exploits are versatile and can allow adversaries to gain initial access, escalate privileges, evade detection, or gain persistence.
  4. Supply Chain Risks: Third-party components expand capabilities but introduce hidden vulnerabilities. In 2024, 19% of advisories analyzed were related to third-party vulnerabilities.
 Key Recommendations for OT/ICS Security

Effective defense of industrial systems requires a structured approach focused on the most impactful security controls. The Dragos report emphasizes the importance of implementing the SANS ICS 5 Critical Controls.

Based on the report findings, organizations should focus on:

  1. Incident Response Plan: Update OT incident response plans to address evolving threat tactics that target deeper into industrial environments.
  2. Defensible Architecture: Proactively conduct annual attack surface analysis, prioritizing network gateways and perimeter resources like VPN, RDP, and SSH devices.
  3. Visibility and Monitoring: Deploy OT-aware monitoring solutions to detect adversaries’ subtle movements before they strike.
  4. Secure Remote Access: Scrutinize vendor remote access points, implementing increased access logging, alerting, and multifactor authentication.
  5. Risk-Based Vulnerability Management: Take a strategic approach focused on real-world threats specific to your industry, prioritizing vulnerabilities that could cause loss of view or control.

 How CinchOps Can Help

Industrial cybersecurity requires specialized expertise and a deep understanding of both OT environments and cybersecurity best practices. CinchOps brings these capabilities together to help organizations address the threats highlighted in the Dragos report.

At CinchOps, we understand the unique challenges of securing OT and ICS environments. Our specialized services align perfectly with the recommendations outlined in the Dragos report:

  • OT Security Assessments: We identify exposed assets, vulnerable systems, and potential attack vectors with our comprehensive security evaluations.
  • Network Segmentation: Our team designs and implements robust network segregation to prevent lateral movement and contain potential breaches.
  • OT Monitoring Solutions: We deploy specialized monitoring tools that provide visibility into industrial protocols and can detect anomalous behavior.
  • Secure Remote Access Implementation: CinchOps can help design and deploy secure remote access solutions with proper authentication and monitoring capabilities.
  • Vulnerability Management Programs: We develop customized vulnerability management strategies that prioritize critical systems and focus on operational impact.
  • Incident Response Planning: Our team helps develop and test OT-specific incident response plans to ensure rapid recovery from potential security incidents.

The Dragos 2025 OT/ICS Cybersecurity Report makes one fact abundantly clear: adversaries are evolving faster than defenders. Organizations can no longer afford passive defense strategies. Contact CinchOps today to build a proactive security posture that protects your critical industrial systems and ensures operational resilience.

Discover more about our enterprise-grade and business protecting cybersecurity services on our Cybersecurity page.

Contact CinchOps today for your FREE Security Assessment.

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