Operational technology (OT) infers to any hardware or software used to detect or cause a change in a system via direct monitoring. This could be sensors that help keep a server room at a specific temperature. The same goes for a filtration system that purifies water. In short, operational technology is a physical device running on a specific kind of software handling the specific processes and events in a specific system or location.
Operational technologies vary widely, as do today’s available solutions. This explains why you should always keep pace with the current trends in OT security to avoid being left behind. However, there are certain broad steps you should take as part of any effective OT security strategy.
And that’s precisely what this simple guide will help you uncover today. Below are some of the OT security best practices you should know about.
Map Your Environment
With OT security, it always pays off to map your environment. Have your team identify the digital locations of all devices in your network in real time. You might wonder why this is essential in the first place. Well, this makes it easier to understand your attack surface as well as pinpoint sources of issues.
Monitor Your Ecosystem for Suspicious Activity
You should do everything it takes to detect unusual or otherwise anomalous activities in your network. This included vendor and service provider traffic. You don’t have to go overboard since it narrows down to monitoring your entire ecosystem. This is vital to reducing security threats and maintaining a strong security posture.
Adopt a Zero Trust Framework
Last but not least, be sure to adopt a Zero trust network to improve OT security. The Zero trust framework assumes any device, user, or network may be a threat until the entity is authenticated. Multifactor authentication is a key element of Zero trust and vulnerability management.
Take it upon yourself to learn more about the different OT security best practices and how they work. It is then that you won’t encounter issues when putting them in place and improve your OT security.