This year, the mining and materials sector has faced a wide range of impacts on its operations due to cyber attacks. The most common reasons respondents cited were loss of relationships with clients or partners (30%), public safety (28%) and production shutdown (26%). That's according to a new report released Thursday by cybersecurity company Claroty: Global State of Communications Systems Security in 2024: Mining and Materials.
The growing challenges faced by cybersecurity leaders in the mining and resources sector in 2024 were particularly related to the protection of cyber-physical systems (CPS), such as operational technology (OT), Internet of Things and building management systems (BMS).
Claroty commissioned an independent global survey of 1,100 information security, OT engineering, clinical and biomedical engineering, and facilities management and operations professionals on the impact of cyberattacks on their organizations' business over the past 12 months.
Financial consequences
Frequent and destructive cyberattacks have resulted in significant financial costs and disruptions, service delays, data loss, and manipulation, with far-reaching consequences for public safety, as well as national and economic security.
Nearly 70% of respondents reported financial losses of $100,000 or more. More than 30% reported losses of $1 million or more. Several factors contributed to these losses, the most common being legal fees (selected by 35% of respondents), loss of income (35%), and regulatory fines (35%). These results highlight the key financial implications in the face of ongoing cyberattacks.
