IT/OT hardening and administrative access

Context

Administrative access to OT-network systems requires more control, traceability and separation than conventional direct access.

Responsibility

Participation in hardening, access control and the design of an in-progress bastion solution.

Architecture

A centralised, segmented administrative access point subject to identity, authorisation and logging controls.

Implementation

Requirement review, attack-surface reduction, access definition and preparation of operational procedures.

Challenges

Combining security, operational continuity and usability in an environment with IT and OT dependencies.

Outcomes and lessons

An in-progress project aimed at a more controlled access model. Final outcomes are not published until implementation is complete.

In OT environments, security must introduce controls without losing sight of availability and recovery procedures.