The Growing Threat to Utilities: Why Old Defenses Are Failing
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) warns of increasing risks to the U.S. power grid as utilities face surging demand, climate disruptions, and escalating cyberattacks. Many critical systems still rely on outdated security solutions—particularly legacy VPNs—that fail to meet today’s cybersecurity standards. Recent breaches highlight just how vulnerable industrial control environments have become and why organizations are moving to Zero Trust Architectures (ZTA)
The Danger of Legacy VPNs: A Real-World Example
One of the most critical examples of outdated security failures involves the Ivanti Connect Secure VPN. In early 2024, CISA issued an emergency directive after discovering critical zero-day vulnerabilities (CVE-2023-46805 and CVE-2024-21887) actively exploited by hackers. These vulnerabilities allowed attackers to bypass authentication, gain administrative access, exfiltrate data, and execute malicious commands undetected.
The impact was staggering:
- Organizations relying on Ivanti’s VPN were forced to scramble to mitigate the damage, with many facing significant operational disruptions and compliance risks.
- Over 2,000 VPN appliances were compromised globally, affecting federal agencies, Fortune 500 companies, and utilities.
- Systems had to be disconnected and reimaged to eliminate persistent backdoors left by attackers.
- Traditional VPNs Are Failing but Invisinet Has the Solution
- Decentralized Enforcement: Instead of relying on a central gateway, Invisinet distributes access control throughout the network, ensuring there’s no single point of failure.
- Granular Micro-Segmentation: Every device and user interaction are verified and restricted, reducing lateral movement across networks and stopping threats from spreading.
- Cloaked Systems: Invisinet’s patented network cloaking keeps critical infrastructure hidden from reconnaissance, preventing attackers from identifying targets.
- Automated Compliance: Invisinet simplifies compliance with NERC-CIP by continuously logging and monitoring access attempts, making audits seamless.
Having Regulatory Assurance
NERC-CIP requirements demand proactive cybersecurity measures, continuous auditing, and stringent access controls—exactly what Invisinet delivers.
Key Compliance Capabilities
- Automated Access Management: Revoke access across all systems and devices with a single policy change.
- Real-Time Identity-aware Audit Logging: Every access attempt is logged and monitored, providing real-time alerts for faster incident response.
- Resilience During site-to-cloud network Downtime: Invisinet’s decentralized architecture ensures security policies remain active intra-site even during network disruptions, allowing continuity of operations for privileged access.
Next Generation Security Solutions for Utilities with Invisinet
As cyber threats evolve, relying on legacy VPNs and outdated defenses exposes utilities to catastrophic risks, from service disruptions to regulatory fines. Invisinet’s Zero Trust Authentication platform provides utilities with:
- Scalable Security: Protect expanding networks with lightweight, cost-effective solutions.
- Enhanced Resilience: Block attacks before they start, protecting OT systems, SCADA networks, and IT environments.
- Simplified Compliance: Meet regulatory requirements with real-time monitoring and audit-ready logs.
By choosing Invisinet, utilities can secure their most critical systems, meet compliance standards like NERC-CIP, and minimize exposure to cyber threats—all while ensuring uninterrupted service delivery.
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