1 Executive Summary

Operational Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT) has evolved along two seemingly different paths over time. OT with its primary focus on aspects of safety and reliability, and IT with its emphasis on security, integrity, confidentiality, and availability. Although OT may view IT as having contrary goals in environments with different requirements, IT should rather be seen as complementary to OT Cybersecurity.

There is a growing business imperative to exploit smart industrial technology use case opportunities which will require a more strategic approach to operational systems and integration with IT. Industrial organizations need to position themselves to take advantage of these industry trends to benefit from the agility, reduced cost, and the improved risk profile associated with the adoption of these new technologies.

Adoption of new technologies into the OT environment doesn't mean exposing it to a host of new security problems. Some steps can be taken now to facilitate the implementation of IT security best practices into OT environments. Achieving them will help with the digital transformation of businesses and its vision of a more connected enterprise, thereby allowing the company to better react to customers and other requirements by more adequately connecting operations with the business.