How does OT security differ from IT security?

While IT security often prioritizes confidentiality, OT security primarily focuses on availability, integrity, and physical safety. Incidents in OT environments can have direct consequences for people, the environment, and production.

What principles are central to OT security?

Key principles include risk-based segmentation, clearly defined security zones, controlled communication paths, and well-defined roles and responsibilities across OT environments.

What is IEC 62443 and why is it important?

IEC 62443 is an international standard series for security in industrial automation and control systems. It provides a comprehensive framework covering architecture, risk management, organizational measures, and technical security requirements.

Why is OT security especially critical for critical infrastructure?

OT systems often control essential services such as energy, water, transportation, and industrial production. Security incidents can lead to operational outages, physical damage, or serious societal impact.

Sicra helps organizations establish a structured, risk-based approach to OT security. With deep expertise in industrial networks and modern OT architecture, Sicra delivers both strategic guidance and hands-on security measures tailored to operational environments. Security monitoring and response Provides continuous visibility into OT and IT/OT environments, enabling early detection and rapid response to security incidents. Read more about "Security monitoring and response" here > CISO-for-hire Delivers strategic security leadership and governance for OT security, aligned with executive management and regulatory requirements. Read more about "CISO-for-hire" here > Security training Builds awareness of OT-specific risks among operators and technical staff working in industrial environments. Read more about "Security training" here > Security consulting Supports architecture decisions, risk assessments, and implementation of frameworks such as IEC 62443 in OT environments. Read more about "Security consulting" here >

OT security

What is OT security?

OT security is about protecting industrial control systems against unwanted events—whether caused by cyberattacks, misconfigurations, human error, or technical weaknesses. The goal is to ensure continuity, safe operation, and control of physical processes, while reducing the risk of unauthorized access and manipulation.

Unlike traditional IT security, where confidentiality is often the primary concern, OT security is mainly focused on:

Availability – systems must operate continuously
Integrity – processes must not be subject to manipulation
Safety – people, the environment, and equipment must be protected

A key reference for OT security is the IEC 62443 series of standards, which defines best practices for architecture, risk management, organization, and technical security requirements in industrial environments. The standard introduces, among other things, the concepts of:

Zones and conduits – segmentation of systems based on risk and function
Foundational Requirements (FR1–FR7) – fundamental security requirements such as identity, access control, logging, robustness, and incident handling
A holistic model covering people, processes, and technology

OT security is therefore not just about firewalls and monitoring, but about establishing a structured and risk-based approach to the entire OT environment—from architecture and network design, to roles, responsibilities, vendor access, and preparedness.

Sicra and OT security

Through its merger with Bluetree, Sicra has built one of Norway’s strongest expert environments within industrial networks, modern OT architecture, and security in operational environments. This provides customers with access to both strategic advisory services and deep technical expertise in how OT environments are actually designed and operated.

Sicra and Bluetree work in a structured manner based on recognized frameworks such as IEC 62443 and help organizations to:

Map OT architecture and dependencies
Establish clear zones and secure communication paths
Reduce attack surfaces between IT, OT, cloud environments, and third parties
Build security into the architecture—not on top of it

This makes it possible to protect critical systems without compromising operations, safety, or production—while at the same time laying a foundation for compliance with regulatory requirements such as NIS2 and sector-specific regulations.

Services

Read about "Security monitoring and incident management (SOC)" here >

Read about our "CISO-for-hire" service here >

Read about "Security training" here >

Read about "Security consulting" here >

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