What Is an Operational Technology Assessment and Why Is It Useful?
Cybersecurity assessments are a standard practice, but they sometimes focus overly on IT. There’s long been a disconnect between the rise of maturity in IT networks and what have been comparatively dormant OT networks. An OT assessment changes this focus.
As the name implies, an OT assessment addresses an organization's IoT/OT security risk, positioning it better to handle malicious attackers. Through it, organizations can better understand their current OT landscape, from the number of IoT assets connected to the environment and the baseline expectations of those assets to events that must be monitored and triggers for “problem events.” An assessment then determines a roadmap of how to address security gaps going forward.
75%
The percentage of operational technology organizations that reported at least one intrusion in a 12-month period
Source: Fortinet, “The State of Operational Technology and Cybersecurity Report,” May 2023
Fortinet’s 2023 State of Operational Technology and Cybersecurity Report notes that 3 out of 4 OT organizations experienced at least one intrusion over a 12-month span. Such a roadmap can prove particularly useful to retailers, especially considering the ramifications of an OT intrusion.
According to McKinsey, “OT cyberattacks tend to have higher, more negative effects than those in IT do, as they can have physical consequences (for example, shutdowns, outages, leakages, and explosions).” In fact, of the OT cyberattacks publicly reported in 2021, “approximately 35 percent had physical consequences, and the estimated damages were $140 million per incident.”
DISCOVER: How can operational technology assessments help bridge the IoT divide?
How Can an Operational Technology Assessment Help Retailers?
Between the in-store and online experience, retailers use a wide variety of IoT assets, such as smart shelves, smart mirrors, radio-frequency identification tags and beacon technology. It’s part of how they elevate in-store experiences and improve omnichannel commerce. An OT assessment can be particularly advantageous for retailers because it ensures that operations run efficiently and that all points of integrated tech work together.
This kind of review can also help retailers identify cyber vulnerabilities, particularly as they expand their digital attack surface. A report by Trend Micro notes that 30 percent of retail IT and business leaders cite too many tools and vendors as one reason that it’s difficult to manage security; 40 percent say it’s spiraling out of control.
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Left unchecked, this problem can escalate. But an OT assessment can help contain cyber risk. CDW offers a multipronged approach including detection, definition, decision, deployment and defense to help retailers review their IoT/OT security posture.
