OT Security/business resilience, lack of incentives for securing software & the news - Ben Worthy - ESW #448

Interview - Ben Worthy from Airbus Protect

The current state of OT security and business resilience

In this episode of Enterprise Security Weekly, we sit down with Ben Worthy, OT Security Specialist at Airbus Protect, to explore the evolving landscape of business resilience in safety-critical sectors. With over 25 years of experience across aerospace, nuclear, water, oil & gas, and other industries, Ben shares insights on how organizations are adapting to the surge in disruptive cyberattacks—from ransomware targeting operational technology to GPS spoofing and supply chain incidents. We discuss major cases including the Boeing/LockBit ransom demand, the Jaguar Land Rover production shutdown, and the SITA passenger data breach, examining how aviation and other critical infrastructure sectors are separating safety risk from business continuity risk.

Ben also breaks down the regulatory changes reshaping the industry, including EASA's October 2025 and February 2026 deadlines that tie cyber assurance directly to safety oversight, and what ENISA's latest numbers reveal about hacktivism and ransomware trends. Whether you're in aviation, nuclear, or any safety-critical sector, this conversation offers practical lessons on building resilience that keeps operations moving while addressing threats in real time.

This segment is sponsored by Airbus Protect. Visit https://securityweekly.com/airbusprotect to learn more about them!

Topic: Where are the business incentives to build secure products and software?

"It's the right thing to do," so of course businesses will make their products secure, right? Well, it turns out that breaches and vulnerabilities don't traditionally hurt financial performance all that much. Stocks recover, insurance covers the bulks of the losses, fines are paid, and lawsuits are settled. Most businesses can comfortably absorb the impact, so the threat of reputational harm or financial losses just aren't slowing them down.

In the case of Ivanti, where the reputational harm was extreme, the company's companies continue to get hacked as critical vulnerabilities keep getting discovered in their products.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-02-19/vpn-used-by-us-government-failed-to-stop-china-state-sponsored-hackers

In this topic segment, we don't aim to provide solutions to this problem, just the awareness that ethics, doing the right thing, and even signing the Secure by Design pledge don't seem to be enough to change vendor behavior when it comes to securing products.

The Weekly Enterprise Security News

Finally, in the enterprise security news,

1. RSA Innovation Sandbox hot takes
2. Did AI solve cyber?
3. fundings and acquisitions
4. a free app to warn you about smart glasses
5. deep thoughts about OpenClaw
6. replacing US tech with EU equivalents is hard
7. should you turn off dependabot?
8. accidentally taking over 7000 robot vacuums
9. the director of AI Safety at Meta loses her email somehow
10. should you go back to using a blackberry?

All that and more, on this episode of Enterprise Security Weekly.

Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/esw for all the latest episodes!

Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-448