Building Operational Resilience Starts with OT Visibility

Downtime is the enemy of industrial operations. For decades, the focus of Operational Technology (OT) has been on ensuring safety, availability, and reliability. Security was managed by physical separation in air-gapped environments. Today, that model is obsolete.

Driven by the proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices across all industries, IT and OT systems have converged, connecting once-isolated systems. This connectivity creates unprecedented efficiency, but also exposes critical infrastructure to cyber threats that they were not designed to withstand.

From manufacturing plants to power grids, these systems have become prime targets for attacks that extend beyond data theft, leading to physical disruption, production downtime, damage to equipment, and ripple effects across the supply chain. The best defense for owners and operators of OT systems begins with a simple, foundational principle: you cannot protect what you cannot see. That’s why comprehensive OT visibility is the foundation of operational resilience.

What Is Operational Technology (OT) Visibility?

OT visibility is the continuous and comprehensive ability to discover, identify, and monitor every asset, connection, and activity across an entire OT. It goes far beyond a static spreadsheet or a one-time network scan. True visibility provides organizations with a real-time, dynamic map of their industrial landscape, including Industrial Control Systems (ICS), Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), Distributed Control Systems (DCS), and other specialized cyber-physical systems.

This differs fundamentally from traditional IT visibility. IT security tools are designed for a world of standardized protocols, frequent patching, and data confidentiality. OT environments are murky by default, populated with legacy systems designed to run for decades without updates, using proprietary industrial networking protocols that IT scanners cannot interpret. The primary goal in OT is not data protection, but ensuring the uninterrupted and safe operation of physical processes; cybersecurity, as it exists in the traditional IT space, is fundamentally unequipped to handle OT environments. As a result, any security measure, including visibility tools, must be non-intrusive to avoid disrupting these critical functions.

Why OT Visibility is No Longer Optional

The shift from isolated systems to interconnected networks means that achieving robust OT security is no longer a nice-to-have or a roadmap goal; it is a necessity. It has become a business imperative for modern industrial organizations, driven by several key factors:

1. The Attack Surface Has Exploded

The proliferation of connected devices is staggering; by 2030, the number of devices connected to the internet is expected to reach 40 billion, with each new device creating another potential entry point for attackers. This heightened risk is reflected in the sharp rise in attacks targeting critical infrastructure. Manufacturing has been especially hard hit, accounting for over a quarter of reported industrial cyber incidents in recent years, highlighting the sector’s vulnerability to ransomware, wiper malware, and state-sponsored sabotage.

2. The Convergence of IT and OT

At the same time, many organizations have seen their attack surfaces expand, and traditional security perimeters have also dissolved. As OT networks become more interconnected with IT environments, they inherit the same risks. Phishing, ransomware, and supply chain compromises that once stayed in IT can now ripple into OT. This integration demands a unified security strategy, which is impossible without visibility across both domains.

3. Shifting Regulatory Requirements

Governments and industry bodies now require stringent security controls for critical infrastructure. Standards like IEC 62443 demand robust asset management and network security, both of which are impossible to achieve without first having a complete asset inventory. The frequency of reportable events, such as the 48 OT cyber incidents reported in the US energy sector in 2023, underscores the regulatory focus on operational security.

4. Increasing Financial and Operational Risks.

A successful cyber attack against an OT environment can be catastrophic, halting production, damaging equipment, triggering fines, and reputational damage. According to IBM, the industrial sector saw the sharpest increase in the average cost of a data breach, rising by $830,000 per incident in 2024. With costs climbing and the OT security market projected to more than double to $50 billion by 2030, visibility has become the first and most critical line of defense.

Overcoming Unique Challenges in OT Environments

Gaining visibility in OT networks is not as simple as deploying IT security tools. These environments come with challenges that demand specialized approaches. Many OT environments rely on legacy software and equipment that are decades old. As the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) Guide to Operational Technology (OT) Security states, the lifespan of an OT system can exceed 20 years; these systems were designed for operational stability, not for a world of persistent cyber threats. They often cannot be patched, lack modern security controls, and may crash if subjected to active scanning from traditional IT vulnerability scanners. 

Additionally, many OT networks communicate using a wide array of specialized protocols (e.g., Modbus, DNP3, Profinet) that are foreign to traditional IT tools. To achieve visibility, any security solution must be fluent in these languages to accurately identify devices, understand their commands, and map their communication patterns with other devices on the network without misinterpretation.

The key to robust OT visibility is using non-intrusive visibility methods. Passive monitoring, which listens to network traffic without sending any packets, is essential. This approach allows a security platform to discover assets, map communications, and identify vulnerabilities without posing any risk of disrupting sensitive industrial processes.

Foundations of OT Visibility: The Key to Secure OT Environments

Achieving comprehensive OT visibility is a systematic process built on several core pillars. It transforms an unknown environment into a well-understood and defensible landscape, laying the groundwork for a mature OT security program.

Comprehensive OT Asset Discovery and Inventory

The foundational step is a complete and detailed asset discovery process. This involves identifying every single device connected to the OT network, from PLCs and human-machine interfaces (HMIs) to sensors and engineering workstations. A robust asset inventory must capture more than just an IP address; it should include crucial context like device type, vendor, model, firmware version, and known vulnerabilities.

Mapping the OT Network Topology

Once you know what assets you have, the next step is to understand how they communicate. Mapping the OT network topology involves visualizing all data flows and connections between devices, both within the OT network and across the IT/OT boundary. This crucial insight is the prerequisite for effective network segmentation. By understanding legitimate communication patterns, security and IT teams can implement policies that restrict unnecessary traffic,  contain any potential threats, and prevent attackers from moving laterally across the network.

How an IoT/OT Security Platform Helps Achieve OT Visibility

For many organizations, OT visibility isn’t a one-time project; it’s an ongoing process. As attack surfaces expand and new devices connect to critical networks, purpose-built IoT/OT security platforms provide the visibility and risk management that traditional IT tools can’t. By integrating seamlessly across IT and OT environments, they deliver a single source of truth and several key advantages:

Passive Network Monitoring

Traditional IT tools often rely on active scanning, which can disrupt  OT devices. Passive monitoring avoids this risk by listening to network traffic instead of sending probes. This enables safe discovery of every connected asset, including legacy devices and shadow IoT, while mapping how they communicate across the environment. It delivers complete visibility without impacting uptime or disrupting operations.

Proactive Vulnerability Management

OT devices were designed for long lifespans, not frequent patch cycles. Many legacy systems can’t be updated and were never built with cybersecurity in mind. By correlating asset inventories with vulnerability databases, an OT security platform highlights at-risk devices and prioritizes mitigation efforts such as patching, segmentation, or compensating controls. Using industry standards to rank vulnerabilities, it also provides targeted recommendations by surfacing the simplest actions to reduce risk.

Enhanced Threat Detection

A foundational step in OT security is establishing what devices exist and how they behave. Once normal communication patterns are baselined, the platform can flag anomalies in real time, from unauthorized remote access to unusual PLC commands or new devices joining the network. This continuous behavioral analysis ensures even subtle deviations from expected activity are caught before they escalate into incidents.

Streamlined Incident Response

Often, speed is the most crucial factor when responding to a potential cyberattack in progress. Complete visibility gives security teams immediate context as to what assets are affected and how to contain any suspicious activity. Ideally, the OT platform should analyze traffic in real time, enabling teams to trace attack paths and take targeted action quickly. The faster the response, the lower the operational and financial impact.

Ultimately, continuous visibility transforms an organization’s security from a reactive to a proactive state, reducing the risk of downtime and hardening the entire industrial environment against cyber threats.

Asimily: Turning Visibility Into Resilience

OT visibility transforms hidden risks into manageable ones, giving organizations the clarity to build strong, resilient security postures. It’s not just about defending against attacks; it’s about ensuring continuity, withstanding disruptions, and recovering quickly when incidents occur.

Asimily delivers comprehensive OT and IoT visibility, giving organizations a clear inventory of every connected asset, including hard-to-see devices in critical environments. With AI-driven risk prioritization and integration across IT and security workflows, Asimily not only shows what’s on the network but also pinpoints which vulnerabilities matter most.

Visibility is the foundation of cyber resilience. Discover how Asimily helps organizations transform OT visibility into operational strength in our complimentary OT buyers guide.