Operational Technology

Operational Technology (OT) refers to hardware and software solutions facilitating physical process automation in industrial environments. These include Industrial Control Systems (ICS) like SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) or DCS (Distributed Control System). These interconnected systems run most of the services the modern society relies on.

During the last decade, we've seen a dramatic increase in cyberattacks against critical infrastructures, one of the most (in)famous being the Stuxnet malware. 

Attacks and denial of service conditions in OT environments could not only result in substantial financial and reputational damage, but also physical infrastructure damage or, as a worst-case scenario, a threat to human life.

Because of their highly sensitive nature, these environments are often strictly isolated and reachable only from a subset of administrative systems within the organisation's network. Once within the OT network, however, security controls are often inadequate.

SilentGrid's consultants provided guidance and recommendations on how to implement security controls around and within OT networks for several organisations in the past. As operating in these environments requires specific knowledge and experience, our consultants work closely with the organisation's OT team, ensuring that the testing activities take unique environment characteristics into consideration. This approach ensures that the engagement is performed safely without pushing the environment beyond its limits. Within this framework, our consultants then simulate potential real-world attacks following the latest trends used by known threat actors.