The convergence of Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) has become more prevalent, resulting in new challenges and considerations, especially given some of the security control constraints exist within OT environments. The emergence of the Internet of Things (IOT) including industrial IOT has meant that the attack surface and threat have increased significantly. This is further complicated by the adoption of cloud technologies as part of everyday business. Whilst the use of cloud offers new ways of working, helping business to achieve more and scale faster, this is not without risk.
As more environments and systems are connected (directly or indirectly) to uncontrolled environments like the internet, how do you protect Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) and those systems that have security challenges? Here, the potentially catastrophic consequences of malicious interference or a significant service failure are profound. With aging infrastructure and disconnected systems being integrated with internet based technology, this produces a unique set of challenges.