Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity: Key Concepts Explained
Operational Technology (OT) networks are increasingly becoming targets for cyber threats. As these systems control critical infrastructure, securing them effectively is more important than ever. However, managing OT and IT networks separately can create unnecessary complexity, delays, and blind spots in your security strategy.
In this article, we’ll look into how you can safeguard your OT network without needing disconnected IT/OT solutions.
The Basics of OT Network Security
Understanding OT network security fundamentals is essential to protect critical infrastructure. OT networks prioritize availability and safety, unlike IT systems, which often emphasize confidentiality.
A primary concern for OT is ensuring uptime, as disruptions can impact critical equipment like manufacturing machines or energy grids, leading to downtime or safety risks. This demand for continuous operation can conflict with regular updates needed to maintain security, creating a unique challenge in OT settings.
Legacy systems are prevalent in OT and are often designed without modern cybersecurity in mind. Many cannot be patched without halting operations, making patch management a balancing act between security and operational continuity. Thus, maintaining OT security requires strategies that minimize disruption while addressing vulnerabilities.
Despite these differences, there are shared security principles between IT and OT that guide the protection of both environments:
Confidentiality: While OT might de-emphasize confidentiality compared to IT, it stil protects sensitive operational data, such as proprietary manufacturing processes or control system configurations.
Integrity: Ensuring that data and commands within OT systems are not tampered with is vital. Any alteration could affect operations or create safety hazards.
Availability: Both IT and OT have to maintain system availability, but the importance of availability is magnified in OT environments because of the direct impacts on physical processes.
In practice, these shared principles apply differently within OT networks. For example, while IT systems can often afford short downtimes for updates or patches, OT systems have to remain operational. This dynamic shapes the way OT security measures are implemented and maintained.
The Importance of Integrated OT Network Security
Integrating OT and IT security enhances operational efficiency by consolidating resources and eliminating the need for separate tools and personnel. A unified system reduces costs, simplifies processes, and minimizes redundant efforts across both environments.
Another key advantage is improved visibility and control over the entire network. Centralized monitoring makes it easier to detect anomalies across OT and IT, providing a comprehensive view that streamlines device management, activity tracking, and incident response—critical for OT networks where breaches impact physical safety.
Unified security also enables consistent policy enforcement across both OT and IT systems, closing potential gaps attackers might exploit. A uniform policy ensures all devices meet the same standards, reducing oversight risks and preventing potential security breaches.
Key Strategies to Safeguard OT Networks with Integrated IT/OT Solutions
1. Network Segmentation and Traffic Control
Network segmentation is essential in reducing cyber threats by isolating network zones and controlling traffic flow. This separation limits the attack surface, making it harder for threats to move between OT and IT systems. Such isolation protects critical OT assets from IT vulnerabilities and external risks.
Micro-segmentation offers even greater control by creating smaller, compartmentalized segments within OT environments. Unlike broader segmentation, micro-segmentation restricts lateral movement, containing threats within isolated zones. This containment approach minimizes breach impacts and limits damage.
Firewalls, access control lists (ACLs), and demilitarized zones (DMZs) can be employed to manage communication between segments. Firewalls inspect traffic, while ACLs provide granular access control, allowing only authorized users. A DMZ adds extra protection by shielding critical OT systems from direct internet or IT exposure, reducing unauthorized access risks.
2. Identity and Access Management (IAM) for Both IT and OT
Managing access to both IT and OT systems in a unified way is important for improving network security. Centralized user management allows you to streamline control over who can access what, ensuring that you maintain consistent oversight across both environments. Without this, you risk creating gaps in visibility, which can lead to potential vulnerabilities.
One effective method for managing access is role-based access control (RBAC). With RBAC, you can define access permissions based on job functions, limiting OT personnel to only the systems and data necessary for their roles. This reduces the chance of unauthorized access and limits the damage that can occur if credentials are compromised.
Additionally, multi-factor authentication (MFA) is important for securing OT environments. By requiring more than just a password, MFA adds an extra layer of defense, making it significantly harder for unauthorized individuals to gain access.
3. Unified Threat Detection and Incident Response
Unified threat detection and incident response improve visibility and speed up threat identification across IT and OT systems. A unified approach consolidates data from both environments, enabling faster and more accurate anomaly detection. This integration is especially crucial for OT systems with unique vulnerabilities.
A Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system is key in this process, correlating data from IT and OT sources to provide a comprehensive security view. When used in a unified strategy, SIEM detects patterns that isolated monitoring might miss. This real-time correlation helps identify threats from either IT or OT systems, enabling quicker mitigation.
Incident response is also streamlined when IT and OT teams operate from a shared playbook. Automated response playbooks tailored for OT threats minimize response time and reduce human error. Automation ensures critical, predefined actions are executed immediately, which is essential for minimizing disruptions in sensitive OT environments.
4. Patch Management and Update Scheduling
Coordinating patch management and update scheduling is essential for securing both IT and OT systems. The challenge lies in applying updates without disrupting critical OT operations, where uptime is paramount. Halting production for updates isn’t always feasible, increasing the risk of cyberattacks.
Outdated OT software poses serious security threats, including increased malware vulnerability, a higher risk of unauthorized access in legacy systems, and operational instability. Unpatched systems are more likely to fail or malfunction during a cyberattack, amplifying the impact on operations.
To address these risks, schedule updates carefully by testing patches in isolated environments to prevent system failures. Plan offline patching windows during non-critical periods to minimize disruptions. Close IT-OT team coordination ensures smooth, timely updates across all systems.
Building a Long-Term Security Framework for IT/OT Integration
Governance and Policy Standardization
Standardizing governance and security policies is crucial for consistent compliance across IT and OT environments. Without a unified framework, security gaps can emerge, creating vulnerabilities. A comprehensive governance strategy helps ensure that all systems meet the same security standards, minimizing risks.
Establishing a unified cybersecurity framework ensures consistency, simplifying policy management and enforcement across the organization. Setting clear security baselines for OT systems is crucial, as they have unique operational requirements. These standards must protect OT systems without compromising critical processes.
Regular security audits and assessments are key for compliance with evolving regulations and standards. Audits reveal policy gaps and help adjust protections against new threats. Continuous evaluation keeps your governance framework resilient and effective over time.
Monitoring and Compliance in Industrial Cybersecurity
Continuous monitoring and compliance are essential for securing industrial cybersecurity, particularly in converged IT and OT environments. As OT networks support critical infrastructure, security lapses can cause downtime, safety risks, or regulatory violations. Constant vigilance protects both operational stability and data integrity.
Real-time threat detection expands your ability to respond as threats emerge, a necessity with interconnected IT and OT systems. Continuously monitoring traffic, device behavior, and interactions reveals vulnerabilities like outdated protocols or unpatched devices. Without real-time insights, attackers can penetrate both IT and OT environments.
Anomaly detection strengthens monitoring by identifying deviations from baseline operations. Unusual device communication, unauthorized access, or out-of-sequence commands signal potential security incidents. Compliance is equally critical, ensuring adherence to industry standards, preventing cyber threats, and supporting transparent audits through detailed logs, which protect your organization from legal and financial risks.
Training and Cross-Functional Awareness
Both IT and OT teams must understand the security risks they face and strategies to mitigate them. Without shared knowledge, security gaps can leave the network vulnerable. Training and cross-functional awareness are essential for safeguarding your OT network.
Joint training equips both teams to handle overlapping threats by covering risk identification, threat mitigation, and OT-specific vulnerabilities. Simulations and drills enhance collaboration, preparing IT and OT to team up effectively in real incidents and reducing miscommunication.
Regular communication channels further strengthen this unified approach. Ongoing knowledge-sharing sessions allow teams to discuss challenges, updates, and potential threats, aligning their efforts to maintain a cohesive security posture across the network.
Step Up Your OT Network Security with SSH PrivX OT Edition
For organizations serious about OT network security, SSH PrivX OT Edition provides the streamlined, unified solution needed to secure both IT and OT environments. PrivX OT Edition offers role-based access control, real-time monitoring, and multi-factor authentication—ideal for maintaining security while minimizing operational disruptions.
Schedule a demo today for a closer look at how PrivX OT Edition’s seamless, integrated security can protect your OT assets without the complexity of separate IT/OT systems.
FAQ
Why consolidate IT and OT security solutions?
Consolidating IT and OT security streamlines governance and improves visibility. A unified approach bridges gaps between IT and OT, enhancing threat detection, incident response, and compliance while minimizing vulnerabilities and ensuring consistent network-wide security policies.
What are the key security risks in a converged IT/OT environment?
Key security risks in converged IT/OT environments include expanded attack surfaces, legacy OT vulnerabilities, lack of patch management, and potential lateral attacker movement. Insider threats, weak authentication, limited segmentation, and real-time monitoring gaps also increase risk.
How can I secure my OT network without specialized OT security tools?
Secure your OT network with segmentation, strict access controls, and regular patching. Use firewalls, intrusion detection, and antivirus tools. Train employees, limit remote access, and apply logging to improve security without specialized tools.
What are the best practices for network segmentation in a converged environment?
Best practices for IT/OT network segmentation include isolating critical OT systems, using VLANs or subnets, and enforcing strict access controls. Deploy firewalls, apply micro-segmentation, monitor continuously, and limit external access to critical systems.
How do I manage security updates and patches without disrupting OT operations?
Manage OT security updates with a phased approach: prioritize critical systems, schedule them for downtimes, and use redundancy for continuity. Apply virtual patching for immediate vulnerabilities, and test patches in a simulated environment to reduce risk.
