Claroty Platform for Oil&Gas Industry

Forward

The oil and gas industry has long been in the crosshairs of ICS\SCADA cyber security threats. These advanced automation networks, collectively known as operational technology, or OT networks, are used throughout the entire upstream and downstream operations lifecycle. The extensive use of these automation systems significantly increases productivity, but at the same time it provides an additional attack surface that threat actors can leverage to inflict material harm. Claroty was conceived to secure and optimize operational networks running critical processes like the multiple integrated OT systems that offshore drilling vessels rely upon. Therefore, Claroty was the ideal partner for a rig contractor that sought not only to comply with E&P contractual requirements, but to take a leading role in transforming the cyber security posture of its vessels.

Offshore Rigs Overview

Mobile Offshore Drilling units (MODUs), used in the exploration and development of wells, are divided into Jack-ups that reside in shallow water sea beds and floaters (drilling ships and semisubmersibles) for mid and deep water drilling. Standard drilling ship and semisubmersibles typically include four major independent OT networks that are each managed by an external contractor and differ from each other in automation equipment and communication protocols utilized.

Security and Operational Challenges

The fragmentation and management of the floaters’ OT networks causes the following structural security vulnerabilities:Remote access required by the network contractors for maintenance activities introduces a new attack surface. Compromising a privileged third-party account to gain an initial foothold on the network is a common attack vector that has been utilized numerous times in targeted attacks.Further, the drilling ships’ OT networks are not air-gapped. They are connected directly with the rig contractor’s main IT network which is connected to the Internet It is clear that these structural vulnerabilities pose a significant risk. However, this risk cannot be soundly managed by the rig contractor for two reasons:Each network is separately managed by its respective contractor in a complete silo. Therefore, there is no unified view of all assets across the entire OT network environment. From the technology perspective, traditional IT security monitoring products do not provide visibility into the entire scope of proprietary OT protocols that are utilized by the assets throughout the floater’s networks.
Acknowledging these challenges, the rig contractor sought a solution that enabled it to attain visibility and regain control over its OT networks, and better address the safety and operational risks it is accountable for.

Deployment Process -Network Infrastructure Assessment

The Claroty platform can be deployed on top of any networking infrastructure. However, Claroty’s  recommended  best  practice  is  to  connect  to  managed  switches  capable  of  relaying replicated traffic over a SPAN port. In this case, the DCN and BOP networks had managed switches prior to our arrival. Unmanaged switches in the power network were replaced based on the OEM’s recommendation.Passive monitoring is executed by connecting to SPAN ports on managed switches. This configuration replicates all the traffic these switches relay. When assessing the network to determine which switches to tap, the following considerations are made: Top priority: Coverage of all traffic that directly involves level one assets (PLCs), including all connections of PLCs with level two (engineering workstations, HMIs) and above (various network servers). It is paramount that all traffic that directly impacts physical process is replicated and monitored. Secondary priority: Following the completion of level-one communication coverage, the assessment team searches for level-two and-above, which includes strategic switches such as intersection points between network segments and working zones. The final deployment step is to extend the successful on-site installation to a central site management interface, where the customer can gain full view of the security posture across multiple vessels. The various vessels on the rig contractor ’s fleet communicate with the onshore HQ via satellite connection. To provide a consolidated multi-site view, Claroty runs on top of the existing satcom network. Claroty utilizes a proprietary approach to overcome two important satcom constraints – relatively low-bandwidth and frequently dropped connections.The data Claroty generates on site is continuously replicated and sent over SSH through the existing satellite connection to the Claroty Enterprise Manager residing in the rig contractor’s onshore SOC.Claroty Enterprise Manager is a central management console deployed in the SOC that provides a single aggregation and management interface across multiple remote sites.