The OT Top 10
Ten operational-technology practices translated with production uptime, process safety, and vendor realities in mind.
Nothing here should interrupt production. Coordinate maintenance windows, change control, safety, and vendors before touching OT.
Identity and Access Control
Know and limit who can touch production systems.
- STAGE
- 1 · Know and control
- EFFORT
- Medium
- OWNER
- Plant / OT leader
Validated Asset Inventory
A walked-down, verified list of every OT asset.
- STAGE
- 1 · Know and control
- EFFORT
- Medium
- OWNER
- Plant / OT leader
Strict Network Segmentation
Keep business-network compromise away from production.
- STAGE
- 2 · Contain compromise
- EFFORT
- High
- OWNER
- OT / network admin
OT-Specific Incident Response and Recovery Plan
Respond to an OT incident without guessing.
- STAGE
- 4 · Recover operations
- EFFORT
- Medium
- OWNER
- Plant / OT leader
Manage Known Vulnerabilities
Patch, or compensate, on a schedule production can accept.
- STAGE
- 3 · Reduce exposure
- EFFORT
- Medium
- OWNER
- OT engineer
Remote Access Pathways
Vendor and remote access that is brokered, logged, and time-bound.
- STAGE
- 2 · Contain compromise
- EFFORT
- Medium
- OWNER
- OT / network admin
Continuous Monitoring
See abnormal OT behavior before it becomes downtime.
- STAGE
- 6 · Sustain performance
- EFFORT
- Medium
- OWNER
- OT engineer
System Resiliency
Keep producing, or recover fast, when systems fail.
- STAGE
- 4 · Recover operations
- EFFORT
- High
- OWNER
- Plant / OT leader
Supply Chain Security
Know what your vendors and components bring into the plant.
- STAGE
- 5 · Engineer securely
- EFFORT
- Medium
- OWNER
- Procurement + OT
Review Processes
Every change to OT is reviewed for safety and security.
- STAGE
- 5 · Engineer securely
- EFFORT
- Low
- OWNER
- Plant / OT leader