According to a recent report, a large percentage of the malware seen on USB drives used in industrial facilities was capable of infecting and disrupting ICS last year.
The rise in malicious USB drives
Honeywell published a report focusing on the of USB-borne malware spotted by one of the security products on the USB drives inside its customers’ industrial environments.
- The percentage of industrial-specific malware has risen to 32% in 2022, from 30% in 2021 and 11% 2020.
- The percentage of malware created to spread over USB increased to 52%, which is higher than the 37% in 2021.
- There has been a minor increase in malware causing disruption to OT systems. Specifically, 81% of the malware detected on USB drives were disruptive, a slight increase from 79% in 2021.
More insights
- The firm has further spotted that more than three-quarters of the malware were trojans, and 51% were capable of providing remote control or remote access abilities.
- This signifies that the attackers are intentionally using USB removable media as an initial attack vector, where they attempt to remotely connect to download payloads, steal data, and establish C2.
Conclusion
USB-related malware is now being widely used as part of cyberattack campaigns against industrial targets. These USB-borne threats can even bypass the air-gapped security that industries often use for protection. To stay protected, organizations are suggested to follow the recommendations provided by the firm.
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