Building an OT Cyber Security Roadmap
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In modern history, holidays and special occasions involve the giving of a gift or investment. More often than not, many gifts are not useful, and the recipient regifts it or tosses unused gifts away after an undisclosed amount of time. In cyber security, it’s money spent, and once it is spent (especially if wrongly applied) – it’s usually gone.
In many Operational Technology (OT) environments, organizations make investments into cyber security products and are cautious to invest in new solutions without fully utilizing what they already possess. Unfortunately, “failed” investments cannot be regifted to recover the losses in time, effort, and budgets – so it is critical to choose wisely when securing your organization and start small in a cost-conscious manner.
In fact, a few aiding activities in that process might be as follows:
Before signing off or investing in industrial cyber security that largely does not benefit the organization, let’s make sure it’s a solid gift to the OT security capability portfolio and it addresses tangible pain points. Conversely, several gifts can be combined for savings and have impressive longevity assuming you don’t need the maximum bells and whistles. Similarly, many organizations may require many upgrades to get them to a sufficient level of security, but some “select gifts” may provide measurable ROI by easing administration and reducing disruptive events over their security journey instead of starting from scratch and overwhelming themselves with change paralysis.
For example, imagine you have a friend moving out on their own during the holidays, and they need average cooking equipment, so you:
Instead of giving your friend the rock with the googly eyes, choose any of the other three options. Or with a very modest and well-meaning effort, get the person a few basic pots and pans, basic cooking preparation tools, a cutting board, and a small dining set. Obviously, it’s better than rarely used gadgets, so the budget option is likely the most intelligent.
This way, the friend can also choose to extend their cooking setup as they go or replace items as needed. It is certainly a pragmatic approach, but one that mimics what is needed in Industrial Control System and Operational Technology environments for the most part – the need for quality basics that enable other investments and human efficiency enhancements.
Needless to say, Verve helps industrial organizations achieve a variety of cyber security objectives or multiply other investments, but nonetheless, our mission is to keep the lights on, the water flowing, and society safe. Verve’s strategy is one that aims to assist the asset owner by helping them implement fundamental capabilities such as gifts that keep on giving.
These are seven areas among the many you could explore, and some will require more lift than others. However, many of these can be executed in order, some can be combined combinatorically, and some can be complete initiatives on their own. The point is, there are things that can be done on a low budget that keep giving back to the organization’s true needs, and if done for the right “price” and the organization minimizes disruptive events (or goes without) – then they did their job.
After all, aren’t we trying to give our organizations and customers gifts that keep giving back positively over a reasonable period of time to achieve a reasonable level of gains for the investment? I thought so, and it’s an honest conversation we are willing to have to help the customer secure their environment.
Download this on-demand webinar to hear why building an OT cyber security roadmap must start with an effective asset inventory.
Learn MoreOT systems require the same ITSM functions that enable security and reliability but with unique characteristics of OT systems and their managed processes.
Learn MoreLearn how to build a comprehensive security plan for your most strategic OT assets in this guide by Verve Industrial.
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