Cybersecurity

In Energy and resources

EY teams understand the business impact, technology challenges and solutions energy companies need to help manage both current and future cybersecurity risks. We help you evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of your cybersecurity programs, and build the cybersecurity resilience you need to protect your critical energy infrastructure assets.

What EY can do for you

Energy and resources companies are rapidly accelerating their digital transformation journeys to modernize infrastructure, deliver cost and operational efficiencies, and build new revenue streams in an evolving market.

In doing so, they are exposing their critical infrastructure to significant cyber risks.

Legacy operational technology (OT) systems, designed prior to modern network and technology standards, are now being retrofitted to interface with mainstream networks and topology. This issue, combined with the introduction of the IoT, the industrial IoT, sensors and smart infrastructure, is exposing new and hybrid systems to a complex range of cyber risks, as well as expanding the attack surface. In turn, this gives more opportunities for state-sponsored threat actors and cyber criminals to find the weakest link.

To help mitigate the growing and significant cyber risks that energy and resources companies face — safety issues, loss of revenue, loss of trust, operational slowdown and increased regulatory scrutiny — cybersecurity resilience needs to be built into every facet of the organization.

The value of ‘security-by-design’

Our “security-by-design” approach gives you the confidence you need to take more risk, make transformational change and enable innovation.

Thriving in a new energy world means that companies need to both seize the opportunities of digitally driven transformative change and protect the organization from the associated risks to maintain the trust of customers, stakeholders and regulators.

EY teams understand the energy engineering and operational environments, including key aspects of availability and system safety, over and above the integrity and confidentiality of the traditional cybersecurity of IT systems. EY links cybersecurity and safety in our methods and operations, which provides a business-driven and focused approach for energy and resources clients.

We take a security-by-design approach that facilitates day-to-day resilience as well as proactive, pragmatic and strategic planning that considers risk and security from the outset.

Tailored services to build cyber-resilience

We combine our security-by-design approach with sector-specific cyber transformation solutions and competencies in cyber strategy, risk and compliance; data protection and privacy; identity and access management; architecture, engineering and emerging technology; and next-generation security operations.

Cyber strategy, risk, compliance and resilience

We help you evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of your cybersecurity and resiliency programs in the context of business growth and operations strategies. You gain a clear picture of the current state of your cybersecurity program and capabilities, allowing you to see how, where and why to invest in managing cyber risks.

We then assist in implementing and executing a strategy and overarching cyber program that supports rigorous, structured decision-making and financial analysis of cyber risks. We also help you to meet and sustain regulatory compliance requirements and build a more risk-aware culture through education and awareness to help minimize the impact of human behaviors.

Data protection and privacy

Our data protection and privacy services are designed to help you protect your organization’s information over the full data life cycle - from acquisition to disposal. We help you stay current with data security and data privacy good practices, as well as complying with regulation, so that you can avoid costly data breaches, reduce the risk of noncompliance, and protect your organization’s brand and reputation by keeping your customer, business and other sensitive information safe.

Identity and access management (IAM)

IAM includes the processes and technologies collectively used to manage the life cycle of digital identities (profiles) for people, systems, services and users. It is a crucial part of keeping your data and key resources protected from cyber attacks and limited only to those who should have access.

We help define your access management strategy, governance, access transformation and ongoing operations, including addressing IAM in OT and IoT systems and complex environments. IAM services can also help you to improve the efficiency of existing tools and processes, and identify opportunities to reduce costs associated with maintaining identities.

Architecture, engineering and emerging technologies

Our security architecture, engineering and emerging technology capabilities help you protect your organization from adversaries that may seek to exploit weaknesses in the design, implementation and operation of your technical security controls. These adversaries include disruptive technologies in the marketplace such as cloud computing, blockchain, IoT, industrial control systems devices, connected automotive and robotic process automation.

These disruptive technologies are critical to your organization’s business strategy and embracing digital technology to gain competitive advantage, and they must be appropriately architected and protected to maximize benefit with minimal risk.

Next-generation security operations and response

Our security operations and response services, combined with our deep portfolio of consulting, implementation support and managed services, can help you build a transformation strategy and roadmap to help implement the next generation of security operations. Energy and resources organizations have complex IT, OT and industrial IoT environments for cybersecurity monitoring. These require an experienced partner to provide holistic monitoring solutions, making sure all avenues for cyber attackers are protected, in addition to providing the right amount of ongoing support to help you manage leading-class security operations in a programmatic way.

EY support includes the design, build and optimization of a leading-class security operations center. The sector cybersecurity professionals can also help to identify and prioritize capital and operational investments to help you apply effective defenses to cyber threats. EY teams can provide just-in-time on-site and remote incident response support to help quickly contain and eradicate an intruder and implement enhanced defenses to reduce the risk going forward.

EY Cybersecurity


Our latest thinking

Does cyber risk only become a priority once you’ve been attacked?

Cyber threats are evolving and escalating at an especially alarming rate for asset-intensive industries such as mining and metals (M&M).

If tech powers the future, who powers the tech?

As they juggle the demands of decarbonization and digitization, utilities need both people and tech to power transformation.

When does reinventing the wheel make perfect sense?

Electrification of road transport promises environmental and commercial gains.

Creating a smarter, safer grid for new meters

EY teams are helping a national electricity company reinforce its legacy power infrastructure for a trusted, cyber-safe future.


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