The rise of industry 4.0 has led to a transformation in operational processes with a growing number of industrial companies turning to connected devices – and the data they generate – to increase performance, efficiency, and automation. But along with the undeniable advantages of digitalization and connectivity comes new vulnerabilities and greater potential for exposure.
To protect today’s hyper-connected operational systems, organizations need a proactive approach to operational cyber security that enables ongoing risk management of legacy systems and converged IT-OT environments while ensuring agility and continuity.
A leading provider of next-generation OT cyber security, Otorio helps industrial companies manage digital risks, build resilient operations, and secure legacy assets through a technology-enabled ecosystem.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the major OT cyber security problems associated with converged environments and how Otorio’s suite of innovative solutions is rising to meet these challenges.
What is Otorio?
Created by CEO Daniel Bren and CTO Yair Attar in 2018, Otorio is a digital risk management solutions provider specializing in cyber security for converged OT/IT/IoT environments.
With a powerful suite of end-to-end industrial control services, Otorio enables the seamless integration of existing operational and security data sources, facilitating automated coordination of risk assessment, monitoring and management, compliance, visibility, secure remote access, incident response, and more into a single intuitive platform.
What are the main OT cyber security challenges that Otorio solves?
As we mentioned earlier, the convergence of IT and OT systems comes with significant benefits ranging from enhanced productivity and efficiency to greater responsiveness and profitability. However, this connectivity brings with it a new set of challenges that – if left unaddressed – can leave a company vulnerable to cyber attack.
Let’s take a closer look a 3 major cyber security challenges of OT/IT convergence:
- Complexity
With the convergence of OT/IT systems, the lines between the two traditionally siloed departments are blurred, creating an added layer of complexity at both ends of the spectrum.
For example, most OT-cybersecurity solutions are actually retrofitted IT solutions that don’t adequately synchronize with OT processes and procedures. At the same time, implementing these solutions requires a special skill set that the majority of OT operators do not have. As a result, OT cybersecurity solutions are often incorrectly implemented or operated, creating critical gaps in security.
- Reaction-based protocol
The majority of existing OT security solutions are reactive, focusing primarily on responding to incidents after they have occurred and preventing future attacks. This presents a critical problem for operational environments that have zero tolerance for downtime, disruption, and the cost of prolonged shutdowns.
But the consequences of a security breach aren’t only limited to financial losses, they can potentially result in serious injury, or even loss of life and cause severe damage to the reputation of the operator that can have a long-lasting impact.
- Lack of visibility
When it comes to attack prevention, visibility is key – after all, you can’t protect what you can’t see. One of the biggest challenges of OT security is the accumulation of Industrial IoT (IIoT) devices, such as smart environmental controls, sensors, device monitors, etc. Without visibility into IIoT assets, organizations are left vulnerable to adversaries looking to infiltrate OT systems through unmonitored access points.
How is Otorio transforming OT cyber security?
As a leader in OT cyber security, Otorio is changing how organizations protect converged OT/IT environments to deliver a customizable, risk-based approach to operational security leveraging 3 key capabilities:
- RAM2
Otorio’s flagship solution, RAM2 (Risk Assessment, Monitoring & Management) is Security Orchestration Automation & Response (SOAR) platform that centralizes, simplifies, and automates industrial digital risk-based management across asset inventory lifecycle.
Using data collected from all OT, IT, and IoT assets within the operational network, RAM2 creates a digital twin of the operational environment. This enables organizations to gain visual insight into their security posture and proactively address vulnerabilities and exposures before they become breaches. Additionally, the intuitive RAM2 platform facilitates the coordination between operational and cyber teams, providing detailed remediation playbooks and a tailored workbench for in-depth forensic investigation.
- spOT
Otorio’s spOT platform automates security and compliance risk assessment processes. By pulling data across a variety of sources, spOT automatically generates Security Controls, Risk assessment, Compliance assessment, and Governance assessment of all assets and devices within the operational environment (even those isolated from the network), shortening audit time and required resources by up to 75%.
Furthermore, spOT provides a complete inventory overview of all assets, enabling manufacturers to monitor safety and security throughout the machine lifecycle. When a vulnerability is identified, the platform alerts the security team to the affected machine and provides a detailed remediation playbook for quick and effective resolution.
- remOT
remOT is a secure remote and privileged access management platform designed to secure the supply chain’s connectivity to industrial assets, minimizing exposure to cyber threats and their business impact.
With remOT, admins are able to manage user access permissions and remote connectivity across multiple sites as well as to specific machines, network segments, and other assets. Additionally, remOT provides a secure and transparent single-point-of-entry to the OT environment, enabling better risk management, complete visibility, and protection from a single location.
The Big Picture
IT/OT convergence gives businesses the opportunity to streamline their operations like never before. But as the two become increasingly integrated, it is critical for organizations to implement proactive solutions tailored to the unique challenges and risks of OT systems.
Otorio’s industrial-native digital and cyber risk management solutions provide an agile and adaptable approach to OT cyber security, enabling organizations to reap the reward of digitalization without the risk.
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This article is part of a larger series focusing on the technologies and topics found in the first edition of the TechRadar by Devoteam. To see what our community of tech leaders said about the current position of Otorio in the market, take a look at the most recent edition of the TechRadar by Devoteam.
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