Cybersecurity can be a daunting concept for industrial manufacturers. With the convergence of IT and OT systems, it’s easy to overlook vulnerabilities, especially if you have low cybersecurity maturity. As cyberattacks on manufacturers increase and threat actors continue to sharpen their digital swords, implementing the proper security controls is crucial in protecting your industrial environments.

This blog post will cover two essential first steps to strengthen your cybersecurity posture.

1. Asset Inventory - Know What You Need to Protect

A good first step is to conduct a comprehensive asset inventory. This means identifying and documenting all the devices, systems, and software that makes up your OT environment. You can’t protect what you don’t know exists, and threat actors would like to stumble upon a wide-open door you don’t know about.

You need a clear picture of what you have before you can determine how best to protect it. Once you have a comprehensive asset inventory, you can prioritize which assets are most critical to your operations and focus on your segmentation efforts on those first.

2. Segment Your OT Systems

Your IT and OT systems may be interconnected. This potentially opens a gateway for possible cyber threats. A smart first move is to establish a secure zone between these two environments. Installing a correctly configured firewall, thus creating an IDMZ, is a proven, secure method, and a great step in protecting your OT network from threats targeting the IT environment.

By analyzing the traffic passing through the firewall, you gain insights into potential risks and vulnerabilities. With this information you can make informed decisions about where to enhance your visibility further, how to integrate this data into your existing security monitoring systems, and develop strategies ways to secure other weak points in your infrastructure.

A Word of Caution: Balance Investment and Implementation

A common mistake some manufacturers make is investing too much upfront in the monitoring system, not leaving enough resources to implement the security measures they need. Appropriate planning will ensure that your organization has the funds available to implement robust security measures to protect their environment.

Cybersecurity is an ongoing process that requires a balance of investment and implementation. Start with the foundational steps outlined above and gradually build on them as your security maturity grows.

Bonus Tip: Partner With an Expert

By taking these first steps, you’ll build the foundation of robust cybersecurity measures for your manufacturing environment. Rexel’s team of cybersecurity experts can help you get started with an assessment of your OT assets and with setting up segmentation. Contact us today or download our Network Security and Availability Assessment flyer to learn more or get started.

Paul Sainato joined Rexel in the Spring of 2018. Prior to life at Rexel, he held various IT-related and non-technical positions. Paul currently holds numerous industry certifications from Cisco, Rockwell Automation, and CompTIA as well as an MBA from Capella University. Educating and training customers about the benefits of securing their industrial networks in addition to performing on-site network-related work is what drives Paul to continue his training and certification journey.

KNOWLEDGE HUB

Knowledge you can use from experts you can trust

Two Essential First Steps for OT Cybersecurity

7/17/24 | Paul Sainato, IIoT Business Development Manager

1. Asset Inventory - Know What You Need to Protect

2. Segment Your OT Systems

A Word of Caution: Balance Investment and Implementation

Bonus Tip: Partner With an Expert