| | July - AUG 2020ENTERPRISE SECURITY6Operational Technology, or OT, is a critical network segment used by businesses that produce goods or deal in physical processes. Industries like manufacturing, chemicals, oil and gas, mining, transportation, and logistics all use specialized technologies to run things like assembly floors, production yards, and energy grids. The control, monitoring, and management of these systems have been progressively automated over the last few decades, and the specialized systems that perform these tasks are variously called Industrial Control Systems (ICS), Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA), or simply OT. The networks where these OT systems operate have traditionally been separated from the corporate Information Technology (IT) environment, as well as from the internet, often separated by an air gap. Put simply, IT is about managing data, OT is about making stuff. And because these OT systems were completely isolated, the OT world felt immune to the hacking that has been a fact of life for IT environments. Despite the added risk to OT networks, IT/OT convergence is happening because it makes financial and operational sense. Operations teams are implementing sophisticated control systems that use software and databases that run on IT systems. Things like WiFi-enabled thermostats and valves can be monitored and controlled remotely over the IT infrastructure And CFOs don't like the costs of separate networks or the separate teams needed to run them. Not only that, threats have become increasingly sophisticated. Just as companies are undergoing digital transformations and developing versatile software, attackers are using the same techniques to create highly complex and versatile malware. Their attacks use a variety of mechanisms to infiltrate your IT--and increasingly, your OT environment, while evading your security tools. There are many tools designed to defend your IT and OT from different types of attacks and different stages of an infiltration. Look for an integrated suite of tools - whether software, hardware, or both--especially those that are designed for the unique challenges of OT environments. This approach will provide you with the greatest security. We hope this edition will help you in making an informed decision about the Fortinet solution providers.Let us know your thoughts!The Risk is RealEditorialRussell Thomas Managing Editor editor@enterprisesecuritymag.comJULY - AUG - 2020, Volume 06 - 15 Published by ValleyMedia, Inc. ISSN 2691-4034To subscribe to ENTERPRISE SECURITYVisit www.enterprisesecuritymag.com Copyright © 2020 ValleyMedia, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part of any text, photography or illustrations without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations. Views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the magazine and accordingly, no liability is assumed by the publisher thereof.Managing EditorRussell ThomasEditorial StaffAaron PierceAlex D'SouzaAva GarciaJustin S GonsalvesJoshua ParkerSurajit Narayan DekaVisualizersIssac GeorgeSalesAlena D'Souzaalena@enterprisesecuritymag.comContact Us:Phone:510.757.1040Fax:510-894-8405Email:sales@enterprisesecuritymag.comeditor@enterprisesecuritymag.commarketing@enterprisesecuritymag.com*Some of the Insights are based on the interviews with respective CIOs and CXOs to our editorial staff
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