Operational Technology Security Poses Inherent Risks for Manufacturers

OT controls the processes and equipment essential to manufacturing, and the piece notes that while it is built to last, legacy technology remains on the factory floor, with a pervasive lack of visibility over a vast and growing number of assets. The article highlights that manufacturers face abundant access points due to mergers, acquisitions and vendor integrations, making secure administration of admin and privileged access difficult and increasing the risk of bad access.

It also points out that OT environments are frequently connected to IT and cloud interfaces, complicating identity and segmentation efforts and undermining the old belief that air-gapped or offline systems are safe. Patching in sensitive OT environments is described as a critical concern because downtime is costly, which can delay timely risk remediation.

Rising awareness is acknowledged, but the piece concludes that whether security is actually improving remains to be seen, with calls for an identity-focused strategy and illuminated OT visibility. According to Dark Reading, the article by Arielle Waldman was published on 5 November 2025.