Wireless Networks Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks Shows Recent Report
The most recent OT and IoT security report, Insights into OT/IoT Cybersecurity Trends, released in February 2025 by cybersecurity firm Nozomi Networks, highlights that wireless networks are still inadequately shielded against cyber threats, allowing malicious actors to infiltrate critical infrastructure systems deeply. During the latter part of 2024, there was a sharp increase in attacks on critical infrastructure organizations in the US, with the manufacturing sector being particularly vulnerable.
Over the last six months, Australia, which previously wasn’t among the top five most targeted countries, climbed to fourth place behind the United States, Sweden, and Germany. The number of alerts per operating system for Australian entities rose markedly, indicating a surge in attempts to breach critical infrastructure sectors in Australia.
The sectors most commonly targeted globally include critical manufacturing, energy, communications, transportation systems, and commercial facilities. In Australia, prevalent attack methods include network denial of service (23.38%), network service scanning (21.1%), remote system discovery (21.1%), adversary-in-the-middle (20.05%), and brute force (4.99%), utilizing impact, discovery, credential access, and collection strategies.
The Nozomi Networks Labs’ recent analysis of over 500,000 wireless networks worldwide revealed that only 6% are adequately defended against wireless de-authentication attacks. This leaves the majority of wireless networks, including those in vital operational environments, highly vulnerable. Vulnerabilities in healthcare wireless networks, for instance, could result in unauthorized access to patient information or interference with crucial systems. Similarly, in industrial settings, such attacks could disrupt automated processes, halt production lines, or pose safety risks to employees.
The report indicates that 48.4% of cyber threat alerts observed in the latter half of the previous year occurred during the impact phase of the cyber kill chain. This trend was evident across various sectors, notably manufacturing, transportation, energy, utilities, and water/wastewater. Command and control techniques were the second most prevalent (25% of all alerts observed), demonstrating adversaries’ deep infiltration into critical infrastructure systems and their persistence in maintaining control over access.
Analysis also unveiled that out of the 619 new vulnerabilities published in the second half of 2024, 71% were considered critical. Additionally, 20 vulnerabilities had high exploit prediction scores, suggesting a high probability of future exploitation. Furthermore, four vulnerabilities were already being exploited actively in the wild. These findings underscore the urgent necessity for organizations to promptly address and mitigate the most critical and perilous vulnerabilities.
Moreover, among all ICS security advisories issued by CISA over the past six months, critical manufacturing stood at the top, constituting 75% of all reported common vulnerabilities and exposures during this period. The manufacturing sector was followed by energy, communications, transportation, and commercial facilities.
Chris Grove, Director at Nozomi Networks, stated, “There is a noticeable uptick in cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure globally. Our systems must not only withstand a variety of threats in the current geopolitical environment but also maintain operations safely and efficiently, especially in situations where human lives are at risk.”
“By recognizing these evolving threats and leveraging actionable insights, we can fortify our critical infrastructure systems to guarantee resilience, safety, and uninterrupted operations in an increasingly volatile world.”
You can access the complete report here.
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