DEEP DIVE INTO

OPERATIONAL
TECHNOLOGY
SECURITY

© 2024. United States Cybersecurity Institute (USCSI®). All Rights Reserved. uscsinstitute.org
 Operational technology is a banging boon for industries; that is optimizing sectors to maintain vital processes. With
businesses being targeted by heinous cyberattacks; the raging threat rates disrupt critical infrastructure and cause
physical damage. Cybercrime is predicted to cost the world USD 9.5 trillion in 2024 (Cybersecurity Ventures).

Ransomware attacks are expected to continue their upward trend this year (Forbes). With such horrifying statistics in
place; the need for specialised OT security professionals is a necessity; who can leverage higher return by deploying skills
earned via best cybersecurity certifications.

Operational Technology Market: 37.0%

Trends, by Region, 2023 - 2030
North America
Market Revenue
Share, 2022

Source: www.grandviewresearch.com

Largest Market

Fastest Growing Market

The above representation shows how North America dominated the operational technology market accounting
for over 37% of the global revenue share dominance was basically attributed to its thriving industrial sectors such as
energy, transportation and manufacturing.

Now, Industrial organizations are constantly exploring and adopting new opportunities to benefit from IT
innovations in their operational technology. Industrial infrastructure, utilities, electric grids, manufacturing plants,
traffic control systems, and beyond are impacted by operational technology systems. Let us take you through the
OT landscape in detail.

© 2024. United States Cybersecurity Institute (USCSI®). All Rights Reserved. uscsinstitute.org
Operational Technology:
Operational technology is hardware and software that detects or causes a change, through the direct monitoring and
control of industrial equipment, processes, and events. These are the programmable systems or devices that interact with
the physical environment.

OT Security:
Securing operational technology systems is of utmost importance; this is why OT Security emerged. It is the sheer
practice of protecting industrial control systems from cyberattacks that could possibly compromise the availability, safety,
and integrity of these entities. The increasing integration of IT and OT systems have brought forward greater risk of
cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure.

Importance of OT Security:
Ÿ Protecting industrial systems and networks from attacks
Ÿ Controlling critical infrastructures such as power stations, transportation networks, and smart city appliances
Ÿ Monitoring OT network
Ÿ Timely detection of cyber threats

Modern OT Security Challenges:

What do you see as the main obstacles for gaining comprehensive Is your industrial network ready to give you visibility on
visibility on OT devices and industrial networks? OT devices and communications?

6%
50% 12% Not sure.
74% Still have to Yes. I do not know
The cost and complexity of 31% Our industrial switches 9% if our current
demonstrate the
building an out-of-band SPAN We do not have have OT visibility No. switches have
value of gaining
network or deploying network access or permission fcaturcs built in Our industrial this capability
OT visibility
TAPs to access switches switches do not
within the industrial support SPAN
network
65% 73%
OT team’s reluctance to Yes.
39%
modify the industrial Our industrial switches
Lack of budget to
network support SPAN or
upgrade industrial
wc usc network IAPs
switches to gain
this capability

Visibility Challenge Non of these 2%, Other 1% Source: cisco.com Scalability Challenge Source: cisco.com

Ÿ Difficulty in securing or guarding what cannot be seen Ÿ Threats overpower the capacity for prevention
Ÿ Unseen vulnerabilities create staggering risk Ÿ Difficult in operating excessively complex systems

© 2024. United States Cybersecurity Institute (USCSI®). All Rights Reserved. uscsinstitute.org
Components of Operational Technology:

Industrial Control Systems (ICS)

Includes devices, systems, controls, and networks to manage industrial processes

SCADA IIoT DEVICES

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
(SCADA) systems collect data from sensors at
distributed sites and send it to a central computer
to manage data. Distributed control systems (DCS)
manage local controllers or devices of production
systems in a location.
Diverse array of sensors, monitors, actuators,
and other technologies deployed on or near OT
equipment. Remote processing units, industrial
robots, programmable logic controller, and
pipelines, are examples of IIoT.

Types of OT Devices:

Programmable logic controllers Human machine interfaces

Remote Terminal units Supervisory control and data acquisition systems

Industrial control systems Internet of Things devices

Distributed control systems Industrial IoT (IIoT) devices (popularly known as Industry 4.0)

IT Cybersecurity and OT Cybersecurity- Different or Same:

Ÿ Confidentiality, integrity, and
availability emphasis
Ÿ Modern OS-based devices
Ÿ Cloud-based devices
Ÿ Data privacy
Ÿ Digital information protection
Ÿ Access control and
authentication measures
requisites
Ÿ Cyber training and awareness
usage
Ÿ Antivirus software and firewalls
application
Ÿ Incident monitoring and
response adoption
Ÿ Prioritizes safety, reliability, and
productivity
Ÿ Includes devices such as
Windows, PLCs, controllers,
sensors, and industrial
networking equipment
Ÿ Physical industrial process
protection
Ÿ Availability and integrity over
confidentiality
Common OT Security Challenges:

Inefficient security technologies

Older version OT systems lack in security features and may not be compatible with modern technologies.

Interoperability
Diverse proprietary systems and protocols used in OT environments makes it difficult to implement
a unified security strategy.

Patch management
OT systems requiring continuous operation makes it tricky to schedule downtime for security updates or patches.

Workforce competence
Making OT employees aware of the latest cybersecurity trends and training, makes it difficult
to identify and minimise threats.

Popular Operational Technology Cybersecurity Frameworks

With a characterization into a multitude of frameworks; these can be divided into industry-specific and General OT
guidance. Other parameters include the terms of regulation, voluntary adherence, and level of direction.

Ÿ CIS Controls- Links with existing risk management frameworks to assist in remediating identified risks.
Ÿ ISO 27000 series- A procedural framework used in tandem with NIST CSF or IEC62443 focusing on
strengthening information security practices.
Ÿ NIST CSF- An attractive alternative for enhancing organizational cybersecurity posture.
Ÿ GDPR- It strengthens data protection procedures by restricting unauthorized access to stored data and access
control.
Ÿ PCI DSS- A comprehensive framework comprising 12 requisites assisting financial services industry by
safeguarding cardholder information, and more.
Ÿ SOC2- An auditing standard bringing enhanced security framework for businesses.
Ÿ NERC CIP- Requires impacted organizations to identify and mitigate third-party cyber risks in the supply chain.
Ÿ IEC 62443 And ISA 99 Standard- Specifically customised to OT environments to define requirements and
processes for implementing and maintaining electronically secure industrial automation.

© 2024. United States Cybersecurity Institute (USCSI®). All Rights Reserved. uscsinstitute.org
Top 6 OT Security Trends for 2024:

Many cybersecurity trends could be enumerated by OT security professionals trained with top cybersecurity courses;
to highlight the urgency of security OT systems for thriving organizational growth. The image below is one such
reflection of the key developments in the near future.

of organization expect OT cybersecurity responsibility

to shift from directors and managers to CISOs.

95% Source: Fortinet

1. Increasingly digitized operational environments

2. From business interruptions to physical harm
3. Proactive OT security
4. Expansion of IoT and more DDoS bot attacks
5. Complete commitment to reducing OT security risks
6. Outsourcing OT security

How to Strengthen OT Cybersecurity? Largest Market

• Adoption of Zero-trust framework and controlled identity access approach

• Segmentation and micro-segmentation of production networks Fastest Growing Market
• Asset vulnerability management via closer risk scanning
• Multi-factor Authentication, identity, and access management
• Robust frameworks for securing device authentication and encrypted communication

9 OT Security Best Practices to Adopt:

1. Establishing OT Security governance
2. Building cross-functional teams
3. Defining OT security strategy
4. Defining OT-specific procedures
5. Establishing security awareness training
6. Implementing risk management frameworks
7. Developing Maintenance tracking competence
8. Enhancing incident response capability
9. Developing recovery and restoration ability

© 2024. United States Cybersecurity Institute (USCSI®). All Rights Reserved. uscsinstitute.org
OT Security Outlook:

Global Operational Technology (OT) $ .

Security Market Billion

22.2%

CAGR
from 2024
$ . to 2030
Billion

Source: www.verifiedmarketresearch.com

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030

Believing another promising statistic from Virtue Market Research; the Global Operational Technology
Security Market is projected to reach USD 54.2 billion by 2030; gaining strength at a CAGR of 22.1% starting 2023.
This is an incredible revelation that is sure to guide operational technological security landscape far and beyond.
However, the ultimate goal is to maximize operational uptime by reducing security breaches. Leveraging security
benefits for the organizations, in the long run, is the target every OT security framework is guided to achieve in the
long run.

© 2024. United States Cybersecurity Institute (USCSI®). All Rights Reserved. uscsinstitute.org
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© 2024. United States Cybersecurity Institute (USCSI®). All Rights Reserved.