To develop an effective OT cybersecurity policy, organizations must begin by identifying the assets they need to protect and assessing their criticality. Understanding the operational environment and the specific risks to that environment—and to the industry as a whole—is essential.
Once relevant regulations and industry guidelines are identified, organizations should conduct a gap assessment to compare existing policies, procedures and programs against best practices. This helps pinpoint areas for improvement in the cybersecurity risk management plan.
Common challenges in implementing and managing OT cybersecurity policies include a lack of personnel awareness regarding their roles and responsibilities. To address this, organizations should conduct regular audits to evaluate policy adherence, provide ongoing training and gather feedback from staff to refine and enhance the policy. As threats evolve and new technologies emerge with higher risk factors, cybersecurity policies must remain adaptive and flexible to accommodate these changes and maintain resilience.
Cyber risk management in operational technology (OT) environments involves identifying, evaluating and mitigating risks that could impact industrial control systems (ICS), critical infrastructure and connected assets. This process focuses on safeguarding physical operations from cyber threats such as ransomware, unauthorized access and system disruptions.
It includes implementing specialized strategies, policies and technologies designed to protect both legacy and modern OT systems and networks. These measures ensure system integrity, operational continuity and regulatory compliance (such as NERC CIP, AWIA and NIS2 Directive), while addressing the evolving threat landscape.
In today’s threat landscape, effective OT cyber risk management is critical for protecting industrial control systems and ensuring operational continuity. By combining advanced threat detection, regulatory compliance and robust policy management, industrial organizations can implement adaptive security frameworks and build resilient security programs tailored to their unique operational environments.
Black & Veatch Cyber Asset Lifecycle Management (CALM) services deliver end-to-end solutions that protect legacy and modern systems, ensure operational continuity and support long-term cyber maturity. Whether you're looking to strengthen your ICS/SCADA defenses or enhance your risk governance framework, our experts are ready to help you secure your critical infrastructure.
