This content explains differences between IoT and OT/ICS/SCADA environments, describes architecture and key components, maps cloud security concepts to operational technology, identifies major threats, and provides practical assessment and lab exercises. It emphasizes safety and availability priorities in OT and offers actionable checklists to secure industrial systems.
IoT and ICS/SCADA Architecture Overview — The Glorious Mess Behind the Machines "If cloud is the office bureaucracy of IT, OT is the factory foreman who yells at everything that moves — and actually means it." You already know about shared responsibility, identity controls, and contai...
What this section covers (and why it matters) A clear, visual architecture of IoT devices vs ICS/SCADA systems How their components fit together and why their priorities differ from cloud environments Quick mappings to cloud security concepts you already know (shared responsibility, identity, ...
High-level architecture: Who talks to whom? (Spoiler: everything.) The main players Field devices / Sensors & Actuators (IoT edge): Temperature sensors, flow meters, valve actuators. Often small, single-board, firmware-limited. Purpose: measure and act. PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers...
Table: IoT vs OT (ICS/SCADA) — Architectures and Security Priorities Dimension IoT (consumer/enterprise edge) OT / ICS / SCADA (industrial control) Primary goal Data, convenience, telemetry Safety , availability, process integrity Lifecycle Short — frequent updates Long — years/d...
Protocols & Peculiarities (the attack surface) Modbus/TCP — Ancient, plaintext, stateless read/write. Great for debugging, terrible for security. DNP3 — Better features, often used in utilities. Some secure variants exist. OPC-UA — Modern, supports encryption/auth; slowly winning hearts. ...
How cloud security concepts map to OT/IoT (so your brain doesn't explode) Shared responsibility: In cloud you share with CSPs. In IoT/OT you share with device manufacturers, system integrators, and plant operators. Who owns firmware updates? Who maintains certificates? Ask early. Identity co...
Threats that actually matter in OT/IoT Ransomware targeting HMIs / historians (encrypting data and disrupting operators) Firmware tampering / supply chain compromise (malicious logic in PLCs) — TRITON and Industroyer were chilling previews MITM and command injection on plain protocols (write t...
Practical assessment checklist (quick, actionable) Inventory: Do you know every device and firmware version? (If not: stop and inventory.) Topology: Where are the gateways? Is there an OT-IT DMZ? Where does vendor access land? Protocols: Which plain-text protocols traverse networks? Can you is...
Lab ideas & next steps (aka nerdy homework) Stand up a mini SCADA lab: a Modbus simulator, an open-source PLC emulator, and an HMI. Practice packet capture and injection. Learn Modbus/DNP3/OPC-UA enough to recognize a legitimate command vs garbage. Practice incident response: encrypt a his...
Final words (TL;DR you fabulous chaos manager) OT cares about safety and uptime, not fancy cryptography. Your job is to translate cybersecurity into terms operators care about: safety, availability, and production continuity. Bring cloud lessons with you, but adapt them. Identity, segmentation, ...
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