One of the biggest security challenges, however, might be IT/OT convergence — the merging of information technology with operational technology. IT teams are no strangers to infosec, but their OT counterparts working among industrial control systems (ICSes) have generally never worked in internet-connected networks. Yet, as the benefits of IoT and industrial IoT (IIoT) become apparent, more ICSes and OT environments are becoming connected — bringing multiple benefits but also creating multiple security threats. Compounding the risk is that IT teams don’t know how to handle threats in such environments, leaving many IT and OT teams unsure exactly where the security responsibility lies.
Here, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) member Kayne McGladrey outlines the challenges of ICS security and explains how OT environments can counter such threats while still reaping the benefits of IoT.