Organizations are rethinking OT cybersecurity because the traditional **“air gap”** between IT and OT has largely disappeared. OT systems—industrial control systems (ICS) and industrial automation and control systems (IACS)—used to be **physically isolated** from IT and the internet. That’s changed as companies connect OT to IT, cloud, and IIoT to reduce costs, improve productivity, and gain a competitive edge. This interconnectivity delivers clear business value but also:

• Exposes OT to the same cyberthreats that target IT
• Creates new pathways for attackers to move from IT into OT
• Raises the risk of impacts on **public safety and critical infrastructure** (energy, water, transportation, manufacturing)

Some key data points from recent research:

• Cyberattacks on OT systems **surged by 73%** last year.
• In a global survey, **nearly 50%** of OT security professionals reported one or more incidents in the past year, with impacts including brand damage, loss of critical data, and reduced productivity.
• The OT cybersecurity market is projected to grow from **$12.75B in 2023** to about **$21.6B by 2028** (approx. **9.2% CAGR**), reflecting how quickly organizations are investing in this area.

At the same time, many OT environments are still early in their security journey:

• The majority (**52.6%**) of the ICS/OT cybersecurity workforce has **five years or less** experience.
• Less than half hold OT-specific security certifications.
• Only **12%** of organizations report **extensive network monitoring** for OT, even though monitoring is the top factor in faster incident detection.

In short, as OT and IT converge, organizations are moving from a mindset of “isolation equals safety” to a more modern approach that treats OT cybersecurity as essential to **operational continuity and safety**, not just data protection.

OT environments are facing a mix of traditional IT-style attacks and OT-specific threats that can disrupt physical operations. Some of the most important trends and risks include:

1. Increasingly targeted attacks on critical infrastructure

Nation-state and criminal actors are actively going after **manufacturing, energy, water, transportation, and communications**. According to the Fortinet 2025 Threat Landscape Report:

• Manufacturing is currently the **most targeted sector** for ransomware.
• Recent attacks have hit **power grids, shipping lines, water districts, and manufacturing plants**.

2. Ransomware and ICS-specific malware

Attackers are developing and using malware tailored to industrial systems, including:

• FrostyGoop – targets technology used by more than **46,000 internet-enabled ICS devices** worldwide.
• PIPEDREAM – one of the first ICS malware families designed to **scale across systems and sectors**.

These tools make it easier to sabotage OT processes, not just steal data.

3. Common attack vectors that still work

Despite the specialized nature of OT, many successful attacks start with familiar IT-style techniques:

• Spear phishing and social engineering
• Compromised endpoints and stolen credentials
• Inadequate segmentation between IT and OT, allowing malware to move laterally
• Device vulnerabilities in PLCs, sensors, cameras, and other legacy equipment
• Internal threats, whether accidental or malicious

4. Gaps in detection and response

Organizations are improving, but there are still notable gaps:

• Detection times have improved from **days in 2019** to **hours in 2024**, but nearly **44%** of organizations still lack **ICS/OT-specific incident response** capabilities.
• Less than a third have a SOC with **OT-specific incident reporting**.

5. Operational constraints and patching challenges

Many OT systems:

• Run on **legacy devices** that are hard or risky to patch
• Must operate **24x7**, making downtime for maintenance difficult
• Are now subject to **regulations** that require specific patching strategies

This combination of high exposure, legacy technology, and operational constraints means OT leaders need a structured, risk-based approach to security—one that goes beyond perimeter defenses and addresses visibility, segmentation, monitoring, and incident response across both IT and OT.

The Fortinet OT Security Platform is designed to help organizations **reimagine** how they secure converged IT–OT environments by moving from isolated point tools to an integrated, platform-based approach. Instead of deploying many standalone products that don’t talk to each other, the platform brings together secure networking, visibility, and operations under a common architecture.

Key capabilities

• Broad visibility across IT, OT, and IIoT
  FortiGate Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) running FortiOS, together with FortiSwitch, FortiAP, and FortiExtender, classify and discover:
  • Users
  • Applications and protocols
  • IT, OT, and IIoT devices
  This visibility is the foundation for managing risk in mixed IT–OT environments.
• Intent-based segmentation and zone protection
  Once assets are identified, FortiOS assigns **risk scores** and enables you to group assets into **secured network zones**. Policies are then enforced per zone and dynamically updated based on continuous trust assessment. This helps:
  • Limit lateral movement between IT and OT
  • Protect critical processes while still allowing necessary data flows
• Integrated threat intelligence and automation
  Through the **Fortinet Security Fabric**, the platform:
  • Shares threat intelligence across tools
  • Supports centralized correlation and alerting to the NOC/SOC
  • Uses AI-driven FortiGuard services for automated detection and response
  The system can automatically **isolate potentially compromised assets** to contain incidents without manual intervention.
• Single-pane-of-glass management
  Security teams can manage policies, view events, and coordinate response from a **central console**, reducing complexity and operational overhead.

Core OT security use cases supported

The Fortinet OT Security Platform is built to support five critical use cases:

• Wide area network (WAN) security
• Local area network (LAN) security
• Advanced threat protection
• Security automation, operations, and management
• Third-party vendor integrations

Why a platform approach matters

Many organizations have discovered that a collection of “best-of-breed” point products can actually increase risk by creating silos and integration gaps. A platform-based approach helps to:

• Reduce technical debt and integration overhead
• Provide consistent controls across IT and OT segments
• Support continuous trust assessment as the environment evolves

For OT leaders, this means you can strengthen security in stages—starting with visibility and segmentation, then moving toward automation and orchestration—without disrupting production operations.