It’s Not Just About Water
Mary-Anna Holden is a former New Jersey BPU Commissioner and Butch Howard is a former South Carolina PSC Commissioner.
While we have focused on water and wastewater operations, the same perils of neglecting Operational Technology (OT) hold true for industrial, manufacturing, and transportation sectors, to say nothing of other utilities.
There is a relatively simple distinction between OT and Information Technology (IT). IT is the security of data and information assets from unauthorized access or disruption. IT thievery seeks data to which it is not entitled or is capable of trying to disable a system.
OT cybersecurity attacks are those that seek to disrupt operations, cause physical damage or loss of life. OT cybersecurity seeks to protect the industrial hardware and software – such as Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) that monitor hardware inputs, execute custom control logic, or operate real-world output devices; and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) that allows monitoring, gathering, and processing real-time data, controls machines, and interacts directly with critical infrastructure components like sensors, valves, and pumps from remote locations.
More simply put, if the system exploitation is to obtain data or intellectual property, it’s IT. OT is to cause an unsafe operating condition and some physical impact.