Drilling, hauling, and energy production relies on millisecond‑timed SCADA signals and remote experts hundreds of miles from the nearest fiber drop. Yet ransomware assaults on industrial organizations jumped 87 % in 2024, and oil, gas, and mining together logged more than 20 publicly disclosed incidents in Q4 alone.DragosDragos One mis‑patched PLC or lost satellite link can idle a rig or shut down a mill—bleeding revenue until the bit or conveyor starts moving again.
IT Pain Points That Hit Oil, Gas & Mining Hard
| Challenge | What It Really Costs |
|---|---|
| Ransomware surge on OT networks | 19 oil‑and‑gas and 4 mining victims in Q4 2024 alone.Dragos |
| Remote & harsh‑environment connectivity | VSAT or LTE drops stall well monitoring, fleet dispatch, and ERP syncs. |
| Six‑figure downtime | Hourly production losses spike with commodity prices; 2022 oil peaks drove record downtime costs.Siemens Assets |
| Legacy SCADA & Windows XP HMIs | Unpatched PLCs give attackers a direct route to valves and crushers. |
| Exploding IIoT footprint | Sensor and telemetry attacks up 107 % YoY across heavy industry.Dragos |
| Regulatory maze (NERC CIP, PHMSA, MSHA) | Missed controls trigger shutdown orders or seven‑figure fines. |
Six Ways an MSP Gives Energy & Mining Firms the Edge
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Any‑Site Connectivity – Portable SD‑WAN kits blend dual‑carrier LTE, Starlink, or microwave to keep pads, pits, and plants online.
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24 × 7 SOC + SIEM Monitoring – Correlates OT logs, historian data, and cloud alerts to block threats in real time.
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Zero‑Trust Vendor & Field Access – MFA‑protected portals replace risky plant‑wide VPNs for drill‑string builders and haul‑truck OEMs.
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Immutable Backup & Rapid Recovery – Backup your data both on-site and on the cloud.
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Patch & Vulnerability Management – Windows, Linux, and firmware updates scheduled around frac stages and blasting shifts.
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Predictable Flat‑Rate Billing & vCISO – Align security roadmaps with drilling campaigns, commodity cycles, and bond covenants.
The Hidden Cost of “Good‑Enough” Uptime
Global breach costs hit $4.88 million in 2024, and unplanned downtime now drains 11 % of annual revenue from Fortune 500 industrials.IBM – United StatesSiemens Assets When crude tops $100 a barrel or copper trades at record highs, a single hour of idle pumps or conveyors can erase a week of margins. Proactive monitoring and hardened networks cost pennies compared with one forced‑shut‑in or mill stoppage.