OT backup and restore testing: prove the recovery path
Inventory the files and dependencies needed to recover a control system, set recovery objectives, and test restoration on an isolated target.
OT Cybersecurity
OT cybersecurity: segmentation, hardening, monitoring, and incident response.
Learning paths & worksheets: OT asset inventory template · OT backup & restore test template · OT reliability and security: inventory, segment and recover
OT incident response: a ransomware playbook for plants that can't just stop
Build an OT incident response plan that respects process safety — roles, containment without shutdowns, backups that restore, and tested playbooks.
Safety instrumented systems: the boundary between control and protection
Basic SIS and SIF concepts, independence, SIL targets, proof testing, bypasses, and the questions to answer before connecting safety to a control system.
Robot cell safety basics: from hazard list to validated mode
A practical sequence for robot-cell risk assessment, safeguarding, operating modes, safety functions, and commissioning without confusing speed with safety.
OPC UA security: a practical model for certificates, users, and trust
A field guide to OPC UA application identity, encrypted channels, user authentication, trust lists, and the operational work that keeps them healthy.
Building a brownfield OT asset inventory without stopping production
A safe sequence for discovering controllers, networks, software, owners, and business criticality when the plant’s documentation is incomplete.
OT zones and conduits: segmentation that follows IEC 62443
How to divide a plant network into zones, control what crosses between them, and why flat OT networks keep making incident reports.
ISA standards: ISA-95, ISA-88, ISA/IEC 62443
ISA's standards library, including ISA-95/IEC 62264 (enterprise–control integration), ISA-88 (batch), and ISA/IEC 62443 (OT security).
NIST SP 800-82 Rev. 3: Guide to OT Security
NIST SP 800-82 Rev. 3: the current federal guide to OT security — architecture, risk assessment, controls, and incident response for ICS.
Tools
Subnet calculator
IPv4 network, broadcast, host range, and mask conversions for OT cells and machine networks.
Terms in this topic
- Data diode
- Hardware-enforced one-way path for high-assurance segmentation.
- Deep packet inspection (DPI)
- Protocol-aware inspection of industrial network traffic.
- IEC 62443
- Core OT cybersecurity standard series.
- Industrial DMZ
- Buffer segment between IT and OT networks.
- Industrial firewall
- Firewall designed for segmented industrial network traffic.
- OT
- Hardware/software that monitors and controls physical processes.
- Packet capture
- Recorded network traffic used for OT troubleshooting and investigation.
- Purdue model
- IT/OT layering model underlying segmentation design.
- Recovery point objective (RPO)
- The target maximum acceptable loss of data or configuration history following an interruption.
- Recovery time objective (RTO)
- The target elapsed time to restore an agreed service boundary after an interruption.
- Security information and event management (SIEM)
- Centralized security-log correlation and alerting platform.
- Zero trust for OT
- Identity- and policy-based access model for segmented OT environments.
- Zones and conduits
- Segment assets; control every path between segments.
Related topics
SCADA · Factory Software · Industrial Networking · Manufacturing · Process Automation · MES