Latest IT/OT Convergence Trends and Best Practices

A breach of IT infrastructure can unleash costly consequences for industrial organizations, as last year’s widely reported Clorox incident illustrated.

The household cleaning products giant was breached despite a prior injection of $500 million in IT investments. Plant operations were disrupted for weeks, leading to nationwide product shortages, a $356 million sales decline (more than 25 percent), a 5 percent drop in stock price, and an estimated $3 billion loss in market valuation. ^{1 2 3}

Rising Costs Drive IT/OT Convergence and Modernization

Indeed, the rising cost of downtime and risk of serious financial losses are driving industrial leaders and CISOs to reexamine what’s needed to properly secure their Information Technology (IT) and Operations Technology (OT) systems.

Mounting costs and financial penalties are also compounded by rising regulatory scrutiny from oversight organizations such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, which now requires public companies to report material incidents within a 4-day window.

This is largely why, in 2024, industrial CISOs are seeking to increase visibility and control over both IT and OT operations, to better assess, track and monitor assets and operations, and strengthen their organizations’ security against cyber threats.

In a recent report from Rockwell Automation and the Cyentia Institute, more than 80% of industrial operations security incidents analyzed started with an IT system compromise. Attackers can then disrupt OT operations by moving to connected SCADA and other OT systems.

Given the potential for significant bottom line impacts, industrial organizations acknowledge that the increased connectivity brought about by IT/OT convergence puts both environments at risk. Shared challenges, such as a growing attack surface and the ongoing cybersecurity skills gap, only compound the problem.

Malicious actors, meanwhile, are becoming increasingly sophisticated. They can take advantage of unpatched, legacy OT systems connected to IT networks. They’re finding that it can be easier to penetrate OT environments that don’t have the same level of protection as IT. From there, they can also jump to IT systems to steal data, launch ransomware attacks, and wreak other types of havoc.

The good news is that it’s possible to reap IT and OT integration benefits and overcome key cybersecurity challenges by bridging the two worlds. Since this is a complex undertaking, industrial organizations should consider partnering with a company that has expertise, like Rockwell Automation to facilitate the cybersecurity improvements most needed.

Elevating Security and Performance with IT/OT Convergence

From a tactical standpoint, integrating IT and OT operations can provide a clear view across business and plant operations, enabling security teams to identify IT/OT assets and evaluate gaps in the organization’s defenses. Understanding what assets and vulnerabilities they have will help CISOs further prioritize required cybersecurity measures.

OT systems, distinct from IT, primarily send data outward through sensors that produce vast amounts of unique data. Integrating Internet of Things (IoT) sensors into OT equipment allows for wireless data transmission to central servers for analysis, enhancing operational autonomy, precision, and efficiency. This feedback loop also improves monitoring, maintenance and uptime. Today's sensors measure various parameters, such as fuel and water pressure, facilitating continuous monitoring and smarter industrial operations.

Integrating IT and OT cybersecurity can also help cybersecurity teams better assess the different types of devices that exist across IT and OT environments so that they can better monitor data across all of those systems and devices for indicators of attack.

In addition to streamlining security, integrating IT/OT systems, processes, and teams also generates efficiencies of scale, improves productivity, and saves costs by eliminating redundancies. Industrial organizations can improve operational efficiencies even further by leveraging artificial intelligence/machine learning tools to detect anomalies, automate threat intelligence gathering, and achieve uptime for the infrastructure that provides security telemetry.

Automation, IIoT and AI Implications

Driving IT/OT convergence in 2024 is the rise of smart manufacturing, in which sensors and connected systems, such as wireless sensor and actuator networks, are being integrated into the management of industrial environments, like those used for water treatment, electric power and manufacturing. The emerging integration of automation, communications and networking in industrial environments is often referred to as smart factories. This type of smart manufacturing, together with cloud computing, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML), opens an exciting world of innovative opportunities for organizations across all industrial sectors. For instance, digital twins, which integrate physical machines with digitized, virtual counterparts, are expected to grow into a $73.5 billion market by 2027.⁴

As smart factories proliferate, so too will risks to cybersecurity. Protecting OT operations against rising threats requires increased collaboration between the IT and OT teams, as well as a comprehensive, enterprise-wide approach to IT/OT cybersecurity.

Secure Convergence: A Roadmap for Industrial Cybersecurity

CISOs must focus on building proactive defenses to better protect converged IT/OT operations. In addition, they should consider the following:

• Adopt the NIST Cybersecurity Framework for a risk-based approach
• Foster collaboration across IT and OT domains to minimize disruptions on the plant floor when deploying cybersecurity initiatives
• Build greater trust among different functions, from IT security, to manufacturing plant operations, to corporate leaders and other relevant stakeholders

These are the best practices that CISOs can use to holistically protect industrial organizations against cyber threats.

Best Practices for IT/OT Integration

To prepare for and respond to incidents in a converged IT/OT environment, it’s important to incorporate the following elements:

• Clear visibility across IT and OT devices, assets and networks
• Once you have better visibility across IT and OT, implementing threat protection best practices such as 24/7, real-time asset inventory and continuous monitoring can help lower risks
• Incident response planning is another critical component that can help you to speed up recovery and minimize the impact of an incident or cyberattack.

IT/OT integration is a complex, multi-faceted journey, so it’s wise to start the process now to reap the most benefits from convergence. Working with an experienced partner, such as Rockwell Automation, can also help you develop an effective plan that bridges any gaps in your IT and OT security posture, and optimizes performance and efficiency.

Rockwell Automation stands ready to partner with CISOs to prepare their organizations for IT/OT convergence. Contact us today for a free consultation.