What is OT cybersecurity? How (and why) should we make it an integral part of our corporate strategy?

OT cybersecurity is all about protecting the stuff that keeps the real world running— power grids, assembly lines, traffic lights, and factory robots. OT, or “operational technology,” covers the hardware and software controlling everything from water valves to conveyor belts. This isn’t about protecting your inbox from spam; it’s about making sure a cyberattack doesn’t shut down energy to a whole city or freeze your company’s production line. 

Why’s it so important now? In the past, OT systems were “walled gardens,” safely tucked away from the internet. Those days are gone. Factories and utilities are connecting more devices to cloud services and remote monitoring tools every year, and they’re doing this for good reason. Aligning OT with IT unlocks significant business benefits like improved efficiency, real-time visibility, data-driven decision-making, and streamlined operations. The integration, often called IT/OT convergence, blends the physical control systems with systems that manage data, analytics, and enterprise processes, enabling factories to leverage analytics, automation, and cloud connectivity, optimizing production, reducing downtime, and enhancing responsiveness to market demands. 

While this convergence delivers critical competitive advantages, it also opens the door to increased risk. Ransomware and other hackers are taking notice in a big way. OT attacks accounted for nearly 20 percent of all cyber threats targeting industrial environments in 2025, many of which made global headlines (e.g. the Jaguar Land Rover attack, which was the largest cyber event in UK history).

Why Should OT Cybersecurity Be Top of Mind? 

• The Threats Got Real: Downtime in OT systems causes major pain and intense losses, and cyber criminals know that these companies are strongly incentivized to pay significant ransoms, and to do so quickly, to get operations back online.

• Laws & Regulations: Governments are putting companies on notice—demonstrate strong OT security or be ready for fines and new rules.

• IT/OT Convergence: Bad actors have figured out that OT and IT are linked, and that convergence is not a one-and-done process. With every new technology and device that’s added, more vulnerabilities appear.  

Laying the Groundwork: Make OT Cybersecurity Strategic 

Gather your leadership. Here’s a basic framework to kickstart your plan.  

1. Get the Execs Involved 
OT security won't work if you make it “just an IT thing.” Thanks to a number of high-profile OT-related breaches, board rooms and C-suites now understand that cybersecurity is a strategic business continuity initiative. Best practice is to make the CISO or CSO responsible for OT, with a cross-functional team that brings in legal, compliance, operations, and IT. 

2. Get Very Clear About Know Everything You Own 
You can’t secure what you don’t know you have. Take inventory—every PLC, sensor, camera, and HMI, and every way they connect to IT and the internet. Map it out and update it regularly. You’ll be surprised what you find. 

3. Build Out Your Policy 
Adopt a framework—NIST, IEC 62443, whatever suits your industry. Don’t let the policy collect dust! Review and update it, tie it into your operational standards, and make sure leadership rubber-stamps your work. 

4. Train for the Real World 
Not everyone on your team speaks “cyber,” nor should they. Each specialized section of your team brings their own expertise to the table, and that’s a good thing. But they also need to understand how to communicate with each other clearly and to assist each other’s efforts. To that end, OT engineers and operators will need practical security training so they spot attacks and make smart calls under pressure. 

Moving From Talk to Action: How to Execute 

“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.” - Alan Lakein 

Even the best plan is nothing without execution, so let’s make things practical—these are some of the nuts and bolts that move OT security from “idea” to “action plan.” 

1. Zero Trust is a Must 
No more “trust but verify.” The new gold standard is “never trust, always verify”—period. Use multifactor authentication everywhere, segment networks so one breach doesn’t domino across everything, and keep access privileges super tight.

2. Always Be Watching 
Deploy monitoring tools that know what “normal” looks like for your OT environment. Anomaly detection, behavioral analytics, and tight logging can help catch attacks before they become emergencies. Connect OT monitoring to your broader SOC—no silos allowed. 

3. Drill for Every Outcome 
Disaster recovery can’t be an afterthought. Regularly simulate cyberattacks, practice your coordinated response, and ensure you have backups for both digital configs and manual controls. Test under real, stressful conditions—when (not if) a crisis hits, you want muscle memory, not guesswork. 

4. Beware the Vendor Wild West 
If you have a third party tying into your network, consider them part of your risk profile. Enforce standards, review supply chain partners, and reduce how many vendors have deep hooks into your OT systems. Ransomware actors love to sneak in via the back door. 

5. Make Progress Visible 
Invest in tools for asset inventory, vulnerability scans, and patching. But don’t stop there—track your efforts and report them to the board, tying cybersecurity reporting into your regular operations review so leadership stays invested and informed. 

The payoff is resilience. And revenue. 

Put simply, a solid OT cybersecurity plan makes you a better, more trustworthy supply partner. That translates to increased revenue. But in order to get there, most manufacturers have a lot of work to do. Manufacturers are at risk due to outdated risk models and fragmented, reactive cybersecurity response frameworks, which fail to keep pace with the increasing volume and complexity of OT cyber threats.

True OT resilience hinges on continuous improvement, proactive incident management, joint IT-OT coordination, and integrating live threat intelligence with operational decisions, rather than relying on static checklists and compliance. Ultimately, a unified approach that starts with the C-suite and embeds security into the core design and culture of critical infrastructure is the path to business resilience and ongoing success. If our team can answer any questions, please drop us a line!