Know more about OT security and further ways you can boost its security and protection.
The more you know about these things, the more likely you can handle any security incidents effectively and efficiently. So, prepare yourself to take the challenge of picking up and learning about these things. Also, ensure that your OT security and protection are well taken care of.
What is OT Security?
According to Gartner, operational technology (OT) is hardware and software that detects or creates change in the enterprise through direct monitoring and/or control of physical equipment, processes, and events. Industrial Control Systems (ICS), such as a SCADA System, frequently use OT.
Boosting OT Security
One of the most common ways to protect your OT environment is to use traditional security measures such as firewalls, endpoint protection solutions, and encryption to protect your business data. Remember, we are not saying that you should just focus on traditional security measures.
But it’s difficult to maintain a high level of protection in your OT environment with just traditional security measures. That’s why you need to add additional security measures in your OT environment. And that’s where you need to learn about newer methods such as network segmentation, virtualization, and VLANs.
It is a good idea to segment the network. So that a single breach in one area won’t cause a threat in other areas. It could be expensive for you, though. But it will be worth it because it could save you from being attacked. For instance, by hackers or any other malicious computer program.
In addition, virtualizing your IT infrastructure is also a very good way to keep your OT environment secure from threats. Such as viruses and malware attacks. With virtualization, everything will be easier for you because viruses or malware won’t be able to affect all the computers in your network because they will only affect the virtual machines instead of your entire network infrastructure.
Set up VLANs
Another way you can boost up your OT security is by setting up VLANs in your network infrastructure.
Remember the thing we talked about? Yes, segmenting the network infrastructure can lead to a more secure IT infrastructure.
Using VLANs is one of the best ways to segment a network infrastructure with ease and efficiency without spending too much money on it. In addition, setting up VLANs also makes it possible for you to host multiple networks on a single switch or router without having to buy additional hardware or software for that purpose.
According to a study made by a Gartner analyst, the number of servers that will be virtualized in the next few years has already reached a very high number. So, if you want your business to stay competitive and secure, it’s a good idea to consider virtualizing your infrastructure.
In addition, it is also a good idea to get rid of all unused software and hardware from your OT environment. Chances are you have old computers or old hardware that may have been replaced by newer ones in the IT environment. Don’t forget to get rid of them from your OT environment.
