Making Cybersecurity Approachable
Providing cybersecurity context, encouragement, protection, and detection for users in multiple process industries There’s no way to go it alone on cybersecurity. Because no one knows everything, even the most informed and competent end user is going to need help from someone with more know-how and information about a certain device, software, best practice, or other protection their process or facility requires. Mere mortals usually need cybersecurity help just to get started. Fortunately, there are many well-informed and generous sources who can provide history, education, encouragement, and solutions to make cybersecurity projects workable, efficient, thorough, cost-effective, and reliable over the long term. We spoke to an E Tech Group executive about cybersecurity: how they handle securing a facility’s network and operations, and how IT and OT must be managed to minimize malfunctions and associated downtime. E Tech Group is an Ohio-headquartered integration and automation firm with 18 locations covering all of North America. Why Cybersecurity Should Be Approachable Cybersecurity can feel intimidating, especially for manufacturers with complex operations. Breaking it down into smaller, easily understandable steps makes it more likely that things will actually get done. By simplifying core concepts, organizations can take concrete steps toward stronger protection without feeling overwhelmed. Here are some key tips for making cybersecurity approachable: IT vs OT to Ethernet & IIoT Laurie Cavanaugh, Business Development Director at E Tech Group, reports that cybersecurity’s recent evolution is a natural outgrowth of operations technology (OT) and information technology (IT) learning to work together and speak each other’s languages. Cavanaugh explains that OT and IT must cooperate on their organization’s overall cybersecurity assessment, which will give a true reading of its OT assets, PLCs, and unmanaged devices, as well as its network topology, managed switches, firewall protections, and IT-related components. IT/OT assessments not only identify weak points in the … Continued
