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Operational Technology (OT) is all that techie stuff that users don’t directly sit in front of. It includes industrial control systems (ICS) like those computers that run factories, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) like the computers that run the air conditioning and lights in many office building and many other things. More generally, OT refers to computers used to manage, monitor and control physical operations in the industrial world.
From a cybersecurity perspective, the OT world is at least ten years behind the general IT world. Maybe more. In many cases, the computers in the OT world are older than you probably are, although it is unlikely that many are older than I am :).
These computers are slow, have limited network connectivity, have very little storage compared to, say, your phone, never mind your laptop. They also, usually, run proprietary software and not the operating systems that you are most familiar with like Windows and macOS.
But here is the rub. For many of them, if they stop working then so does the industrial process that they control. That might be the power plant that powers your lights, the water plant that brings water to your home, the air traffic control system that prevents the thousands of planes in the sky right now from crashing into each other and many other really important things. IF the OT that runs an oil refinery stops working, sometimes that refinery catches fire or even explodes. Not a good thing. It does not include Siri, no matter how important that might seem to some people at any particular moment.
The (preferably) “not stop working” part means that you can’t just upgrade them whenever you want. The slow and lack of storage part means that you can’t just add stuff into the network and expect things not to break. In general, doing anything to these systems is hard. And risky.
The governments of Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Korea (South, not North), New Zealand, The US and the UK just released guidance on securing OT environments.
Before you say OT is not important to you, consider this. Does your company manufacture stuff? Do they have warehouses? Do you work or live in a high rise building? Do you enjoy driving your car from time to time (think Colonial Pipeline)? Do you have lights, heat and water in your house or apartment? If so, OT is important to someone that you rely on and that could significantly impact your life or livelihood.
Learn about these basic principles here.
If this makes you a bit worried, please contact us.