OT Security
OT (Operational Technology) security is the protection of the hardware and software that monitor and control physical processes: in rail, signaling, train control and trackside systems. OT differs from IT in its priorities (safety and availability over confidentiality), decades-long asset lifecycles and specialized protocols.
How it works
OT environments consist of controllers, sensors, actuators and the networks between them, running protocols designed for determinism rather than security. Because these systems control physical processes and are often safety-certified, they cannot be patched or rebooted on IT timescales, and active scanning can disrupt them.
OT security therefore emphasizes asset visibility, network segmentation, passive monitoring and anomaly detection, and compensating controls around systems that cannot themselves be hardened.
Why it matters for security
In rail, OT security is inseparable from safety: the systems being protected keep trains apart and control their movement. A security approach that ignores rail's operational constraints will either be rejected by operators or put service at risk, which is why rail OT security is treated as its own discipline.
Related solution
Building a rail security operations center
Bringing OT visibility and rail-specific detection into a SOC workflow.
See the solution →
