The Client

An international industrial company from the machinery manufacturing sector, operating several production plants across Europe and running a distributed OT (Operational Technology) infrastructure integrated with IT systems. The organization was in the process of digitizing production lines and integrating industrial systems with central analytics platforms.

The challenge

The expansion of the OT environment and its integration with the corporate network increased the attack surface. An internal audit revealed the absence of a consistent security approach in the industrial environment.

The key risks

• lack of segmentation between IT and OT networks,
• outdated controller systems and industrial devices,
• absence of a formal incident response process in the production environment,
• limited visibility into threats within industrial networks.

The organization needed an expert who could assess the risks and design a realistic security model without building a full cybersecurity team.

The solution

Within a consulting model, we engaged a Senior OT / Cybersecurity Consultant with experience in industrial environments.

The project scope included:

• conducting a security assessment of the IT/OT environment (gap analysis),
• analyzing the network architecture and segmentation levels,
• preparing recommendations for hardening industrial devices and servers,
• designing a security event monitoring model for OT networks,
• developing an incident response procedure tailored to the production environment,
• conducting workshops for IT and maintenance teams on industrial cyber threats.

The project was delivered in an advisory format, with a clearly defined implementation roadmap for the next 12 months.

The conclusions

• A clearly defined IT/OT segmentation model reducing the risk of attacker lateral movement.
• Identification of critical vulnerabilities within the production environment.
• Preparation of the organization to meet industrial security standards.
• Increased cybersecurity awareness among operational teams.

The client achieved a tangible improvement in the security level of the industrial environment and received a practical action plan without the need to build a permanent, large security organization.