OLISTIC: Dynamic and Near-Real-Time Cyber-Physical Security Risk Assessment and Management

Ensuring Comprehensive Protection for Critical Information Infrastructures

OLISTIC is an advanced framework and software platform designed to assist organizations of all sizes in performing dynamic, continuous, and near-real-time cyber-physical security risk assessments. Compliant with the ISO/IEC 27001 standard on information security management, OLISTIC addresses the cascading effects associated with security incidents arising from interacting entities and assets. By focusing on the interdependencies within Critical Information Infrastructures (CIIs), OLISTIC enables organizations to predict potential problems and minimize the consequences of diverse security incidents.

What is OLISTIC?

OLISTIC is a comprehensive risk assessment and management solution that integrates cyber and physical security considerations into a unified framework. It enables organizations to define, graphically represent, and document all cyber-physical assets within the scope of their security risk assessment process. By specifying dependencies among assets and linking each asset with predefined threats and vulnerabilities, OLISTIC facilitates a continuous risk assessment process. This process highlights potential risks within an organization’s infrastructure and proposes countermeasures through the implementation of predefined security policies derived from widely adopted international standards, such as ISO/IEC 27001.

Key Highlights:

  • Dynamic Asset Management: Allows organizations to continuously update and manage their asset structures, ensuring that risk assessments reflect the current state of the infrastructure.
  • Multi-Dependency Risk Assessment: Incorporates algorithms to capture multi-order dependencies between CIIs and third-party infrastructures, providing a holistic view of potential cascading effects.
  • Predictive Impact Analysis: Utilizes predictive mechanisms to assess the potential impact of security incidents, enabling proactive risk mitigation.
  • Visualization Tools: Offers intuitive visualization of interdependencies, critical paths, and risk probabilities, enhancing situational awareness and decision-making.
  • Compliance Support: Aligns with ISO/IEC 27001 standards, streamlining the process of achieving and maintaining compliance.

Features and Capabilities

Comprehensive Asset Modeling

  • Graphical Representation: Enables detailed visualization of all cyber-physical assets, their interconnections, and dependencies within the organization’s infrastructure.
  • Dynamic Updates: Supports real-time modifications to asset configurations, ensuring the risk assessment remains current with infrastructural changes.

Advanced Threat and Vulnerability Mapping

  • Predefined Threat Catalog: Integrates an extensive library of potential threats and vulnerabilities, facilitating accurate mapping to specific assets.
  • Likelihood and Impact Analysis: Evaluates the probability and potential consequences of identified threats, aiding in prioritization and response planning.

Continuous Risk Assessment Process

  • Real-Time Monitoring: Implements ongoing surveillance of asset statuses and threat landscapes to detect and assess risks promptly.
  • Automated Policy Implementation: Applies predefined security policies and countermeasures automatically in response to identified risks, minimizing manual intervention.

Multi-Order Dependency Analysis

  • Interdependency Modeling: Analyzes relationships between internal assets and external entities, such as supply chain partners, to identify potential cascading effects.
  • Critical Path Identification: Determines essential asset and process pathways whose disruption could significantly impact operations, focusing mitigation efforts effectively.

Predictive Risk Impact Mechanisms

  • Scenario Simulation: Conducts simulations of various security incident scenarios to predict potential impacts and refine response strategies.
  • Impact Forecasting: Utilizes data-driven models to anticipate the consequences of potential security breaches, enabling proactive risk management.

Intuitive Visualization Tools

  • Interdependency Mapping: Provides visual representations of asset relationships and dependencies, enhancing understanding of complex infrastructures.
  • Risk Dashboards: Displays real-time risk levels, critical paths, and mitigation statuses through user-friendly interfaces, supporting informed decision-making.

ISO/IEC 27001 Compliance Facilitation

  • Standardized Framework Alignment: Ensures that risk assessment processes and security policies align with ISO/IEC 27001 requirements, simplifying compliance efforts.
  • Audit Support: Generates comprehensive reports and documentation to assist in compliance audits and demonstrate adherence to international standards.

Benefits and Value Proposition

OLISTIC distinguishes itself by providing a dynamic and comprehensive risk assessment framework that seamlessly integrates with an organization’s existing processes. Its focus on multi-order dependencies and predictive impact analysis equips organizations with the tools necessary to navigate the complexities of modern cyber-physical security challenges. By facilitating real-time monitoring and automated policy implementation, OLISTIC not only enhances security postures but also optimizes resource allocation and operational efficiency.

OLISTIC key benefits include:

  • Holistic Risk Management: Integrates cyber and physical security considerations, providing a unified approach to protecting critical infrastructures.
  • Proactive Threat Mitigation: Employs predictive analytics to anticipate and address potential security incidents before they materialize.
  • Enhanced Situational Awareness: Utilizes advanced visualization tools to offer clear insights into asset interdependencies and risk exposures.
  • Streamlined Compliance: Aligns with international standards, reducing the complexity and resource requirements associated with regulatory compliance.
  • Operational Resilience: Identifies and fortifies critical pathways within infrastructures, ensuring continuity of essential operations amidst disruptions.

Client Impact:

  • Critical Infrastructure Operators: Safeguards essential services such as energy, water, and transportation by identifying vulnerabilities and implementing robust security measures.
  • Manufacturing Industries: Protects industrial control systems and supply chains from disruptions, ensuring production continuity and quality assurance.
  • Healthcare Providers: Secures patient data and medical devices, maintaining the integrity and availability of critical healthcare services.
  • Financial Institutions: Shields banking and financial systems from cyber threats, preserving trust and stability in financial operations.

Potential Use Cases and Applications

Industry Applications:

  • Critical Infrastructure Protection: Ensures secure and resilient operations for energy, transportation, and water supply systems by identifying and mitigating cyber-physical threats.
  • Manufacturing & Industrial Cybersecurity: Protects Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and Operational Technology (OT) against cyberattacks, unauthorized access, and supply chain disruptions.
  • Healthcare Risk Management: Safeguards electronic health records (EHR), connected medical devices, and hospital networks, ensuring continuous patient care and regulatory compliance.
  • Financial & Banking Security: Prevents cyber fraud, data breaches, and insider threats while maintaining compliance with ISO/IEC 27001, GDPR, and financial security frameworks.
  • Smart Cities & Public Sector: Enables real-time risk assessment for smart grids, intelligent traffic systems, and municipal networks, ensuring secure and resilient public services.
  • Telecommunications & Cloud Services: Enhances network security, data privacy, and service continuity, mitigating DDoS attacks, infrastructure vulnerabilities, and service disruptions.
  • Enterprise IT & Corporate Security: Strengthens organizational risk management frameworks by automating compliance assessments, vulnerability detection, and risk mitigation workflows.

Scenario Descriptions:

  • Cyber-Physical Risk Assessment for a National Power Grid: OLISTIC maps critical infrastructure assets, identifies cyber-physical interdependencies, and simulates potential cascading failures, allowing preemptive risk mitigation and response planning.
  • Proactive Incident Response Planning for a Manufacturing Company: OLISTIC conducts a real-time cyber-physical risk assessment, identifies vulnerabilities in production lines, and automates security policy enforcement, ensuring uninterrupted manufacturing processes.
  • Healthcare Data Security & Compliance Monitoring: OLISTIC monitors cyber-physical risks across hospital systems, prevents unauthorized data access, and generates compliance audit reports, reducing security incidents and regulatory penalties.
  • Financial Services Risk Management: OLISTIC detects high-risk vulnerabilities in financial systems, implements real-time risk scoring for cyber threats, and enforces automated compliance policies, ensuring continuous protection and regulatory adherence.
  • Smart City Infrastructure Risk Assessment & Resilience Planning: OLISTIC analyzes risk interdependencies among smart city assets, identifies cyber-physical vulnerabilities, and optimizes resilience strategies, ensuring secure and uninterrupted public services.