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Report

State of CPS Security: Data Center Exposures

Claroty Team82 presents its research on the riskiest data center asset and infrastructure exposures, and the attack paths available to threat actors that put data centers at risk.

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We researched more than 750,000 data center cyber-physical systems assets and core infrastructure, exploring how attackers exploit interconnected digital ecosystems to access operational infrastructure.

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Key Findings

Infographic showing a network device icon with a red 18% indicator and an arrow pointing to a globe icon, representing internet connectivity.

18% (32,000+) of more than 174,000 data center infrastructure assets are one hop away from a system making risky outbound connections to the public internet

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Infographic displaying a power icon (lightning bolt) at 41% and a cooling fan icon at 32%, each surrounded by a red circular progress indicator.

Power distribution units (41%) and HVAC/ cooling systems (32%) have the highest percentage of assets one hop away from a risky connection to the public internet

Infographic showing a white building and gear icon with a red warning sign, flanked by the red percentages 88% and 40%, with curved directional arrows.

Building management systems contain some of the riskiest exposures, with 88% communicating over insecure protocols and 40% containing outdated firmware

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Infographic showing a white laptop icon with a lightning bolt on the screen, positioned below the red text '80%'.

More than 80% of OT control systems, power monitoring, and loT systems communicate over legacy, insecure protocols such as BACnet and MODBUS

Infographic showing a white Wi-Fi router icon positioned below the red text '23%'.

23% of loT devices such as environmental sensors, asset tracking tags, and loT gateways contain known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs)

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Adversaries Often One-Hop from Exposed CPS Assets

Many times, adversaries are no more than “one hop” from an exposed CPS asset, after having gained a foothold inside the data center. Data center asset exposures are reached via indirect pathways into operational environments through interconnected IT systems, third-party remote access, remote management services, and trusted network relationships.

Total Data Center Infrastructure Assets

174,577

Infographic showing icons and labels for BMS (building), PDU (lightning bolt), HVAC (fan), Power Monitoring (laptop), and Physical Systems (shield).

Number of exposed assets one hop away

32,157

Percentage of exposed assets one hop away

18%

Critical Exposures Found on Power Systems

Power systems, such as power monitoring and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), OT and BMS inside the data center also pose risks to uptime, reliability, and safety should an attacker successfully make the one hop and laterally reach these infrastructure assets. We found consequential numbers of assets with KEVs, outdated firmware, and insecure communication protocols.

Red circular icon featuring a white laptop displaying a lightning bolt on its screen, representing Power Monitoring.

Power Monitoring

30,610

Total Devices

0

Internet-Exposed Devices

833

Devices Containing KEVs

82%

Percentage of Devices Communicating over Insecure Protocols

59%

Percentage of Devices Running Outdated Firmware

ed circular icon featuring a white UPS (uninterruptible power supply) unit with power and lightning bolt symbols.

UPS

16,057

Total Devices

86
Internet-Exposed Devices

101

Devices Containing KEVs

86%

Percentage of Devices Communicating over Insecure Protocols

23%

Percentage of Devices Running Outdated Firmware

Red circular icon featuring a white laptop displaying angle brackets on its screen, representing OT Controls.

OT Controls

81,420

Total Devices

613
Internet-Exposed Devices

11,498

Devices Containing KEVs

85%

Percentage of Devices Communicating over Insecure Protocols

48%

Percentage of Devices Running Outdated Firmware

Red circular icon featuring a white building and a gear, representing a Building Management System (BMS).

BMS

66,395

Total Devices

369
Internet-Exposed Devices

800

Devices Containing KEVs

88%

Percentage of Devices Communicating over Insecure Protocols

40%

Percentage of Devices Running Outdated Firmware

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