10 OT security vendors you should know

10 OT Security Vendors You Should Know

Check out our updated list of the top OT security vendors you should know in 2024. 

While operational technology (OT) has traditionally been separate from information technology (IT), that line is increasingly becoming blurred, resulting in new security challenges for organizations. Thankfully, there are now a number of OT security vendors who can help you secure your infrastructure. The article walks through the reasons for the OT/IT convergence, the different phases that OT departments go through in securing their connected infrastructure, and some OT security vendors that can help your infrastructure stay secure.  

 

The OT/IT Convergence 

For many, the distinction between OT and IT has historically been stark. Massive machines that were part of industrial control systems (ICS) were purely mechanical, standalone pieces of technology. These contained systems were not networked to anything, and troubleshooting had to be done onsite, often in remote parts of the world. It’s no wonder that OT was completely separated from IT—the technologies were fundamentally different, requiring a different set of skills to operate and troubleshoot.  

The merging of OT and IT began with the ability to network OT devices over the web. The flow of data from these once remote devices delivered a tremendous amount of value to critical infrastructure businesses. They quickly began bringing these once standalone devices online, whether in brownfield projects that networked previously unconnected OT devices or greenfield projects that had OT devices with connectivity directly out of the box.  

Today, the gap between OT and IT is not simply converging; it has altogether collapsed. The connectivity of OT devices presents the opportunity for a bad actor to exploit weaknesses of the device from the outside. With this change comes many new cybersecurity challenges for OT departments and a host of new OT security vendors that can help resolve them. But first, OT departments must be made aware that there is a potential threat that must be resolved. 

 

Phases of Securing OT 

With connected OT devices being relatively new, many OT departments go through a phased approach in their journey towards securing their infrastructure. It usually follows this pattern:  

Step 1: OT Security Kickoff  

This first stage is often initiated by the board, executive team, or department leadership as a response to recent cybersecurity failures (such as the SolarWinds hack) or to comply with government or vendor regulations. Whatever the case, the powers that be have declared OT cybersecurity to be a priority, leaving OT personnel scrambling to find the right processes to follow and/or the right OT security vendors to help them do so 

Step 2: Asset Discovery and Cybersecurity Assessment 

In order to secure OT devices, you must first discover exactly whats connected to your network. In this phase, the organization looks to document the network topology and all the connected assets that that attached to it. This is often the “eureka moment” when both management and staff realize how many devices are at risk for possible exposure, especially if they have not been updated or patched in a while. Asset discovery often leads to—or is done in tandem with—an OT assessment that looks at the risk exposure of the organization’s people, processes, and devices.  

Step 3: Risk Remediation, Process Optimization, and Threat Detection 

Now that the networked devices have been identified and the risk of exposure understood, it’s time to remediate the problems, optimize processes to prevent risks from cropping up again and ensure that there is proper threat detection. Remember: with connected devices it is not a matter of if your systems will ever be breached; it’s a matter of having the appropriate detection and response when they are compromised. 

 

Top OT Security Vendors 

We have compiled a list of the top OT security vendors we hear about most often on customer calls. We’re not necessarily endorsing or recommending any of them here, but we do hear about them often and they are vendors that can assist organizations with their cybersecurity journey. That said, an organization must realize that there is indeed no “silver bullet” when it comes to securing OT devices. In fact, a successful strategy typically involves a number of these solutions working together in concert with policies that cover people and processes 

This is where SecurityGate.io really shines. We are an OT security vendor with a lightweight software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that is built to quickly assess your organization’s critical infrastructure cybersecurity risks so you can make improvements faster. Our team is made up of OT professionals with a wealth of experience conducting OT security assessments and leading remediation efforts. Our platform design is based on all the challenging experiences we had running OT security for industrial companies, wishing there was an easier, faster way to do it 

Gartner recently recognized our effectiveness in the space and included us in their 2021 Market Guide for OT Security Vendors. Check out the details here.

The best part of our platform is that with painless, spreadsheet-free assessments, you can understand your organization’s cyber risk exposure sooner and make improvements across the organization faster. SecurityGate.io gives you visibility into cybersecurity compliance and maturity efforts across your organization, and in tandem with some of the OT security vendors below, can help you continuously strengthen your company’s operational resilience. 

 

Disclaimer 

SecurityGate.io is neither endorsing nor recommending any of the vendors listed below in this blog post. Some of these vendors have official partnerships of various types with SecurityGate.io and some do not. 

 

1. Nozomi Networks 

Not only does Nozomi Networks provide asset discovery, network visualization, vulnerability assessment, risk monitoring, and threat detection, but they also supply a central management console that combines OT and IT risk monitoring. Nozomi Networks specializes in the critical infrastructure sector, claiming to secure a number of the world’s largest oil and gas, pharma, mining, and utility companies. 

 

2. Claroty 

This industrial cybersecurity system specializes in continuous threat detection and secures remote access solutions for industrial systems. Claroty is a platform that can reveal the assets connected to your network, protect them by looking at critical vulnerabilities, and detect threats in real-time as they attack your network. Additionally, Claroty provides a way for business users to connect securely to industrial networks to help drive organizational innovation.  

 

3. Mission Secure 

Mission Secure touts that they were started out of U.S. Department of Defense research to stop cyber threats. They provide managed cybersecurity services along with hardware and software to secure OT environments. From initial assessment through improvement services they aim to provide security leaders with more visibility, prevention, and monitoring capabilities. 

 

4. Dragos 

Created by ICS and OT professionals, Dragos offers a platform to visualize, protect and respond to online threats with a mission to “protect the world’s most critical infrastructure and safeguard civilization.” Dragos is also recently notable for building a partnership with the Department of Energy to create Neighborhood Keeper, a collaboration to assist smaller providers who don’t have the resources to purchase advanced security technologies. 

 

5. Rumble 

A little newer to the market, Rumble brings a SaaS-based approach to asset discovery. Without requiring the purchase and installation of hardware, Rumble provides a secure and cost-effective means of helping security leaders gain visibility of assets on their network. Simply install a lightweight scanner, run an unauthenticated scan, and view the results in their dashboard.  

 

6. Fortinet 

A leader in two Gartner 2020 Magic Quadrant reports for Network Firewalls and WAN Edge Infrastructure, Fortinet provides both hardware and a custom operating system (FortiOS) to secure networks through what they call a “borderless network.” Fortinet states they have secured the majority of Fortune 500 customers by leveraging AI and machine learning technologies. 

 

7. Forescout 

While the company primarily focuses on the IoT connected to enterprise networks, Forescout does have a product specifically tailored to OT that identifies the assets on your network and provides real-time threat detection. The Forescout system automatically checks for over 2,400 ICS-specific threat indicators and offers 24/7 support for their customers. 

 

8. Industrial Defender 

In 2006 Industrial Defender started with their focus on securing industrial control system environments. They provide hardware, software, and services designed to help industrial organizations maintain compliance and secure their operations. Their products cover OT asset management, anomaly detection, vulnerability management, and compliance reporting.

 

9. Schneider Electric

Schneider Electric provides a wide variety of products and services that are not necessarily related to cybersecurity or risk management. We include them here because they are well known in the space for providing services, hardware, and software for cybersecurity in industrial environments.

 

10. SecurityGate.io

SecurityGate.io is an OT security vendor with a lightweight software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that is built to manage the risk lifecycle across an organization’s critical infrastructure. Both consultants and operators can easily measure cybersecurity risks so you can make improvements faster. Our team is made up of OT professionals with a wealth of experience conducting OT security assessments and leading remediation efforts.

 

There Is No Single Solution 

With OT cybersecurity, there is no single product that is a cureall for securing your infrastructure. In fact, that is one of the biggest errors many organizations make when initially putting together their OT cybersecurity budgets: they look for one solution to solve everything that ails them.  

Instead, it is important to realize that you need a cybersecurity ecosystem built with a number of different OT security vendor solutions. You must be able to discover all the assets on your network, quickly assess their relative risk and exposure, provide visibility into the remediation of known issues, optimize future processes to minimize human errorand have highly intelligent threat detection and mitigation services in place 

If you’re looking to take OT cybersecurity to the next level and need help assessing your critical infrastructure’s current state, SecurityGate.io is here to help. Learn more about why SecurityGate.io is the #1 risk management platform for industrial cybersecurity.  

Matt Wilbanks

Wilbanks is responsible for global go-to-market strategy and marketing activities, and as a key member of the leadership team, developing the company's overall strategic vision. Matt brings experience in leadership, sales, and marketing from the technology space to SecurityGate.io.

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