Recent research done by Cyolo and the Ponemon Institute has determined that OT systems are facing new risks in this time of increased connectivity. The research suggests that many organizations have insufficient expertise, resources and collaborative systems to properly mitigate risks and guarantee secure OT system access.  

OT systems are seeing an increase in third-party users that can access these environments remotely, with 73% of organizations allowing third-party users access to OT environments. This represents an average ratio of 77 third-party users per one organization. When it comes to securing the access of a third-party user, challenges include prohibiting unpermitted access (44%), coordinating OT and IT security priorities (43%) and offering users an excess of privileged access (35%).

Industrial asset visibility is low, as 73% of organizations are without an authoritative OT asset inventory. The research also found that OT and IT teams struggle to communicate. 71% of organizations state that both teams are responsible for ensuring secure OT systems; however, 37% report minimal or no collaboration between teams while 19% communicate only after a security incident occurs.