It’s Friday evening. The production line is running at full capacity – and then it suddenly stops. Screens go dark, control systems freeze. A nightmare scenario no one ever wants to experience. As industrial enterprises become increasingly digitalised, cybersecurity is moving from side note to a central topic of strategic management.
Connecting Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) brings unprecedented efficiency, but it also exponentially increases the risk of attack. Only a few years ago, production systems were isolated. SCADA systems – supervisory control and data acquisition systems that collect and process operational data – together with programmable logic controllers (PLCs) that control machinery and other control panels used to operate solely within local networks. This isolation once acted as their natural line of defence against external threats.
With the advent of digitalisation and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), the situation has changed:
Security strategy must follow a defence-in-depth model: a multilayered architecture combining physical, network, application, and user-level protection. The foundation is rigorous network segmentation in line with standards such as IEC 62443, the use of industrial firewalls, zoning of production cells, and deployment of security tools (IDS/IPS, DPI, SIEM) specifically designed for OT environments. Many of today’s solutions – such as Cisco, Claroty, Nozomi Networks, and Radiflow – provide granular visibility into operational traffic, identify vulnerabilities in real time, and quickly raise alerts about abnormal behaviour typical of ransomware or espionage campaigns.
One often-overlooked area is the management of machine identities and access rights. In industrial environments, where embedded devices and HMI panels (human–machine interfaces) operate, access management is far more complex than in standard IT. Digital certificates and multi-factor authentication (MFA) need to be adapted to production realities. That is why they are often combined with physical tokens, biometrics, or isolated remote access via jump servers. Weak authentication and default or shared passwords remain one of the most common entry points for attackers.
Another key component of defence is patch management. Because industrial systems cannot tolerate frequent downtime, a regular maintenance schedule is essential – one that allows updates to be tested and applied with minimal impact on production. Many factories still run systems on unsupported operating environments (such as Windows XP Embedded or older Linux kernels). In such cases, network-level compensating controls and strict monitoring are critical to ensure that even legacy equipment remains protected.
However, it is worth remembering that cybersecurity is not just about technology. Processes and people are equally important. A typical example is an employee who falls victim to a phishing campaign and discloses their login credentials or connects a permitted but infected USB device. That is why it is essential to regularly train staff about common threats, restrict or prohibit connecting personal devices to production networks, and maintain an incident response plan, clearly outlining who does what in the event of an attack, including supplier contacts and recovery steps. This is not just about meeting regulatory requirements (such as NIS2, Cybersecurity Act, and GDPR) but about being prepared to act quickly in a crisis, when every minute counts.
Emerging technologies such as AI and advanced analytics bring additional capabilities – they can detect behavioural anomalies and trigger automated incident responses. However, it is important to see them as a means to an end, rather than as the end itself. Industrial cybersecurity is fundamentally about overall architecture, risk management, and ensuring operational continuity.
IT and OT security can no longer be treated in isolation. Their integration is inevitable – whether because of technology or because of the threats. Every industrial company should treat cybersecurity as an inseparable part of its operating model. Investments in technology, people, and processes must be measured not only by ROI but predominantly by their ability to ensure resilience and keep production running even in the face of a targeted attack.
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