Operational technology security – a data perspective
Andres Andreu · Network Security · 2020
In the evolution of the operational technology (OT) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) landscapes, one of the most commonly overlooked areas within cyber security is that of the actual values in the data. Contextually this means that when the term ‘data’ is used, the reference is to data seen beyond network metadata (ie, source address, source port, destination address, destination port, etc). With operational technology (OT) and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), one of the most commonly overlooked security issues is the values in the data. The primary concern is the data elements that actually have an impact on the physical realm via values being set or modified. The objective is to not allow a hostile piece of data (ie, a value change) to reach a destination endpoint, such as a programmable logic controller (PLC), causing a negative physical action. Andres Andreu of Bayshore Networks argues that we need to have a deeper understanding of this data if we are to properly secure such environments.