Protect Your Utility with Powerful IT and OT Security

OT Security

Your OT security is essential to protecting your industrial control systems and physical processes, whether you’re operating a power plant or other critical infrastructure. Any OT security assessment should consider:

• Physical System Operation: OT security differs from IT security in that it is reliant on the safe and reliable operation of physical systems over just data protection.
• Legacy Systems: Energy and utility companies often use legacy systems that run on outdated software or haven’t been patched in many years.
• Access Control Measures: Understand who has access – and how – to prevent unauthorized users from infiltrating and potentially manipulating critical functions.
• Segmentation: IT and OT networks should be segmented to reduce the attack surface, prevent breaches from spreading across the network, protect operations, and ensure regulatory compliance.

FERC Compliance

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has been managing cybersecurity standards for power systems, but investor-owned utilities operate outside the jurisdiction of the FERC, leaving them on their own to manage and fund cybersecurity threats. Energy and utility companies should make efforts to comply with FERC requirements, regardless of whether it is managed by the FERC.

Data Security & Segmentation

Because of “smart cities” and connected environments, information is often transmitted from energy and utility companies across cities and towns. Without proper security and segmentation, this data access opens up a larger threat surface attackers can exploit. Everything from automated bill pay to metering for parking can be compromised, making it critical to manage IT and OT security across all energy and utility services.

Systems Control

If the IT or OT security at an energy or utility company is breached, it could drastically compromise the integrity of the system’s performance. Attackers can cause a utility to malfunction, overheat, or worse, which could result in a potentially life-threatening incident. 

Systems Protection

There is a lot of demand placed on energy utilities, which can mean there isn’t enough security to cover the need. Ransomware and other serious attacks continue to rise each year, demanding greater IT and OT security at energy and utility companies.