National Infrastructure and Supply Chain

Threats to infrastructure and supply chains will continue to expand.

Multiple sources confirm a substantial rise in the overall volume of cyberattacks in recent years. One report noted a 30% increase in cyberattacks on critical infrastructure worldwide between January 2023 and January 2024 alone.  

Another source states that ransomware attacks, a significant threat to infrastructure and supply chains, increased by around 67% in 2023.

Cybercrime costs are projected to rise dramatically, from an estimated $8 trillion in 2023 to nearly $24 trillion by 2027, highlighting the escalating scale of the problem.

 

GuardTower is a multi-layer deception, detection, and deterrence cybersecurity system with an AI-based architecture platform. GuardTower is designed to be part of your network to attract and capture attackers after the breach point but before the impact of the activity, providing valuable insights into their tactics and techniques, thereby stopping nefarious activities before they begin. GuardTower also goes beyond being a ghost in your network to leveraging distraction, deterrence, and countermeasures to keep attackers from critical systems, gathering intelligence, and even disrupting hacker operations. GuardTower includes various active tools, including AI Decoys, AI Strikepoint, and AI Strikeforce, making it a versatile tool for security teams.

GuardTower, the "All In One Multi Container Platform," can contribute significantly to securing national infrastructure and supply chains through its ability to:

Early Threat Detection and Intelligence Gathering:

  • Decoy Systems: GuardTower deploys a network of AI Decoys, decoy systems designed to mimic real IT assets (e.g., servers, applications, databases). These AI Decoys act as bait to attract cyber attackers.

  • Real-time Monitoring: Any interaction with an AI Decoy is highly suspicious, as legitimate users should not be accessing these isolated systems. GuardTower’s AI Strongpoint leverages MITRE ATT&CK and NIST frameworks as policies to monitor these interactions in real time.

  • Attacker Behavior Analysis: By observing attackers interacting with the AI Decoy and Strongpoint, security teams can gain valuable insights into their tactics, techniques, procedures (TTPs), tools, and objectives.

  • Threat Intelligence: The collected data provides crucial threat intelligence, helping organizations understand emerging threats, identify vulnerabilities, and refine their security defenses proactively.

Example: If an AI Decoy mimics an industrial control system (ICS) component, any unauthorized access attempts could indicate a targeted attack on critical infrastructure. Analyzing the attacker's actions against the frameworks can reveal the specific exploits they are using and the data they are trying to access.

Enhanced Network Security and Incident Response:

  • Early Warning System: AI Decoys can detect intrusion attempts early in the attack chain, warning security teams early. This allows for GuardTower’s AI Strongpoint to intervene and mitigate potential risks before actual damage occurs to the live systems.

  • Reduced False Positives: Alerts from AI Decoys have a very low false positive rate because any interaction is inherently suspicious. This helps security teams focus on genuine threats, improving the efficiency of incident response.

Example: If an AI Decoy simulating a logistics server is accessed from an unusual location, it could indicate a supply chain attack in progress. The recorded actions can help the security team quickly understand the scope of the attempted breach and take appropriate containment measures.

Protection of Critical Assets and Supply Chains:

  • Diversion of Attackers: AI Decoys can divert attackers away from real, critical systems and data. Engaging attackers in the decoy environment can prevent them from reaching and compromising valuable assets within national infrastructure or the supply chain.

  • Identification of Vulnerabilities: The attack attempts on AI Decoy, Strongpoint, and Strikeforce can reveal potential vulnerabilities in the simulated systems and services, allowing organizations to patch these weaknesses in their real infrastructure proactively.

  • Supply Chain Visibility: By deploying AI Decoys that mimic systems used by suppliers or partners in the supply chain, organizations can gain better visibility into potential threats targeting the broader ecosystem.

Example: Deploying the trio of AI-driven systems that emulate standard software used in a manufacturing plant within the supply chain could detect if an attacker is attempting to exploit vulnerabilities in that software to disrupt production.

Cost-Effective Security Solution:

  • Standards-based Platform: GuardTower is agnostic to existing security platforms and integrates with your Ethernet network. It is a cost-effective solution for deploying and managing its primary three elements without significant financial investment in licensing fees.

  • Efficient Resource Utilization: GuardTower is designed to run multiple containers and security tools simultaneously, maximizing the utilization of the host hardware.

In summary, GuardTower strengthens the cybersecurity posture of national infrastructure and supply chains by acting as an early warning system, providing valuable threat intelligence, diverting attackers from critical assets, and aiding in detecting vulnerabilities. Its comprehensive and cost-effective nature makes it a powerful tool for enhancing the resilience of these vital sectors.