Initial Situation of Cybersecurity in Operational Technology (OT) (Industrial Cybersecurity, OT Risks)
Cybersecurity is a critical issue - not only for corporate IT, but also increasingly for operational technology (OT). OT was originally a rather isolated environment in which PLCs, networks and control components were interconnected for a specific task. The term “security” primarily referred to secure operation, rather than cyber threats.

However, this has changed fundamentally since the discovery of the “Stuxnet” worm in 2010. The attack on PLC controllers impressively demonstrated that OT environments can also be the target of cyber attacks. Traditionally, these areas were “air-gapped” and not connected to external networks. Today, however, OT networks are often connected to IT systems or the cloud via Ethernet or WiFi.

With the convergence of IT and OT, factory automation and industrial applications must be prepared for current and future cyber security threats. Although IT incidents occur more frequently, OT incidents are usually much more destructive and can endanger life and limb as well as entire companies. The technical gap between IT and OT systems makes it difficult to simply adopt established IT security mechanisms.