Cyberattacks On Critical Infrastructures Drive Major Financial Losses

A new global survey, conducted by the cybersecurity company Claroty, highlights the rising financial and operational impacts of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure systems. The survey of 1,100 cybersecurity professionals revealed that cyber-physical systems (CPS) are increasingly being targeted.

This includes operational technology (OT), Internet of Things (IoT), medical devices (IoMT), and building management systems (BMS), leading to major financial losses and operational disruptions.

In light of these rising threats, cybersecurity professionals are facing unprecedented strain as the frequency of cyberattacks increases and AI complicates the threat landscape.

One of the report’s key findings is that nearly half of respondents (45%) reported financial damages exceeding $500,000 USD due to cyberattacks on CPS in the past year, with 27% experiencing losses of $1 million or more.

The sectors most affected include chemical manufacturing, energy, and mining, where over 50% of respondents reported losses over $500,000. Contributing factors include lost revenue, recovery costs, and employee overtime.

Ransomware continues to pose a major challenge, especially for the healthcare sector. Over half of the respondents (53%) indicated paying more than $500,000 USD to meet ransom demands in order to regain access to encrypted systems.

Hospitals and other healthcare facilities have been particularly vulnerable, with 78% of healthcare organizations reporting ransom payments over this amount.

Operational disruptions caused by cyberattacks have also been widespread. Almost half of the respondents (49%) experienced over 12 hours of downtime in the past year, with a third (33%) reporting at least one full day of disruption.

For many, the recovery process is lengthy—29% said it took over a month to fully recover from incidents. Process manipulation and disruption were among the most commonly reported effects of these attacks.

Remote access and supply chain vulnerabilities are another major concern. With 45% of CPS assets now connected to the internet, reliance on virtual private networks (VPNs) without CPS-specific security measures is growing.

Third-party supplier access to CPS environments is a significant entry point for attacks, with 82% of respondents reporting at least one incident originating from such access in the past year.

Despite these challenges, there is growing optimism about CPS resilience. Over half of the respondents (56%) expressed confidence in their organization’s ability to withstand future attacks, with 72% expecting improvements in CPS security over the next year.