For too long, the Operational Technology (OT) world-the domain of Industrial Control Systems (ICS), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)-operated under the comforting, yet increasingly false, premise of an “air-gap.” In today’s hyper-connected, IT/OT converged landscape, that air-gap is a myth. The threat actors, from […]
Industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT) now sit squarely in the crosshairs of threat actors. Nation-state groups and financially motivated attackers increasingly target process logic, safety systems, and supply-chain access – often blending IT methods with domain-specific manipulations that can cause physical impact. Modern OT threat hunting must therefore be process-aware, protocol-sensitive and […]
The OT Imperative: Why Cyber Hygiene is the New Safety Protocol For decades, the Operational Technology (OT) environment-the industrial control systems (ICS) that regulate everything from power grids and pipelines to manufacturing lines-operated under the comforting but increasingly outdated paradigm of the “air gap.” Security was often a matter of physical isolation and proprietary obscurity. […]
In the world of Operational Technology (OT) and Industrial Control Systems (ICS), downtime isn’t just a loss of revenue-it’s a threat to physical safety, environmental stability, and critical infrastructure availability. For decades, the security strategy for OT was “security through obscurity” and physical air-gapping. Today, the convergence of IT and OT, the proliferation of Industrial […]
Industrial Control Systems (ICS) run the world’s power grids, water systems, factories and transport and they do it using a motley collection of communication protocols. Many of those protocols were designed decades ago for reliability and real-time operation, not for modern cybersecurity. Today, attackers are weaponizing protocol weaknesses, and defenders must understand p-rotocol-specific risks, real […]
Background: The New OT Perimeter is the Internet For decades, the security strategy for Operational Technology (OT) environments-Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, Distributed Control Systems (DCS), and the Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) and Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) at their heart-was air-gapping or network isolation. The premise was simple: if a controller isn’t connected […]
Why OT asset discovery matters How OT asset discovery works – modes & core techniques Quick selection criteria (what to evaluate) The top 15 OT asset-discovery tools (short vendor summary + why/when to pick) 1. Claroty (Claroty Platform / Continuous Threat Detection) Why it stands out: Industry-focused platform with a mature protocol DPI library and […]
1. Start with Comprehensive Asset Discovery and Inventory You can’t protect what you don’t know exists. In sprawling manufacturing floors, hidden gems like rogue sensors or forgotten HMIs lurk, begging to be exploited. Asset discovery kicks off segmentation by mapping every device-PLCs, RTUs, even that dusty IoT temperature gauge. Why it matters: Without inventory, you’re […]
1. Robust Network Segmentation: Your First Line of Digital Moat Picture your SCADA network as a medieval castle: without walls, any invader strolling the outer bailey can waltz into the throne room. Network segmentation divides your IT/OT ecosystem into isolated zones-think Purdue Model levels, where Level 0/1 (sensors and PLCs) stays firewalled from corporate Level […]
Operational technology (OT) environments -the PLCs, RTUs, HMIs, historians, field I/O and industrial controllers that run power grids, water systems, oil & gas plants and factories -operate under different constraints than IT. They’re deterministic, safety-centric and often rely on legacy protocols; yet they’re now frequently connected to corporate networks, remote support tools and cloud analytics. […]
