When we talk about OT (Operational Technology) networks, it is common to immediately think of industrial machines, production lines, and the factory floor. However, this view only captures part of the importance of these environments.
In practice, an OT network is the infrastructure that sustains a company’s physical operations, connecting systems, equipment, and processes responsible for transforming resources into products, services, and revenue. It is where business strategy becomes operational reality, making OT a critical element for continuity, efficiency, and competitiveness.
<h2 data-start="387" data-end="443">How the separation between IT and OT is breaking down</h2>
To protect these critical assets, organizations have historically relied on the concept of the <a href="https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/air-gap">air gap</a> — a security strategy based on the physical and logical separation between corporate IT environments and industrial OT environments. The goal is to keep OT networks isolated from the internet and external networks, significantly reducing their exposure to cyber threats.
<ul>
<li data-start="1032" data-end="1227">In practice, however, this concept has become increasingly difficult to sustain. Growing operational and business demands have made complete separation between IT and OT less realistic over time.</li>
</ul>
One of the main factors contributing to the erosion of the air gap is the need for remote maintenance. Many production lines rely on legacy equipment whose technical knowledge is concentrated among a small number of specialists or manufacturers. As a result, remote access has become an operational necessity to ensure the health and availability of these assets.
In this context, manufacturers and third parties frequently receive remote access to industrial assets through VPNs, remote support tools, or temporary connections established during maintenance activities. This is precisely where one of the most relevant attack vectors in OT environments emerges.
In many cases, these remote access mechanisms are implemented without adequate security controls, relying on shared credentials, weak passwords, the absence of multi-factor authentication, a lack of geographic or time-based restrictions, and, most importantly, accounts that remain active long after maintenance activities have ended. When discovered by malicious actors, these weaknesses can provide direct access to OT environments and compromise critical production systems.
<h2 data-start="568" data-end="614">When integration expands the attack surface</h2>
Another factor that has significantly increased the exposure of industrial networks is the growing need to integrate OT environments with corporate information systems such as <a href="https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/enterprise-resource-planning">ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)</a> and <a href="https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/mes-system">MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems)</a>.
<ul>
<li data-start="2685" data-end="2974">These integrations are driven by legitimate business objectives, including improved competitiveness, greater operational efficiency, real-time visibility into production processes, and support for data-driven decision-making — all essential components of industrial digital transformation.</li>
</ul>
The challenge is that, in many scenarios, these integrations create direct communication paths between the corporate layer and the industrial control layer. MES servers frequently communicate directly with PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers), while ERP systems exchange information with MES platforms through APIs, databases, and integration files.
Additionally, many PLCs and industrial devices were developed long before modern cybersecurity requirements became standard. As a result, many of these assets lack robust native authentication, encryption, traceability, and segmentation capabilities, making them highly attractive targets for attackers.
The business risk is significant. A successful compromise of the corporate environment can create a pathway to major operational impacts.
For example, if an attacker gains access to a server responsible for ERP-MES integration, they may be able to interrupt production orders, modify operational parameters, manipulate process data, or cause downtime across entire production lines. This can happen without directly compromising a PLC, expanding the attack surface even when risks associated with legacy assets have already been addressed.
Given this reality, OT networks must be accompanied by a robust <a href="https://it-eam.com/blog/expert-desk/risk-management-as-a-strategic-pillar-in-the-execution-of-it-projects-at-it-eam">risk management strategy</a> covering every asset that composes and supports the environment. After identifying and assessing risks, organizations can adopt different treatment strategies, including:
<ul>
<li>Mitigate: Implement controls to reduce the likelihood or impact of a risk.</li>
<li>Eliminate: Remove the source of the risk through architectural or process changes.</li>
<li>Transfer: Shift part of the financial or operational responsibility through contracts or insurance mechanisms.</li>
<li>Accept: Consciously retain the risk when it falls within acceptable organizational thresholds.</li>
</ul>
Most importantly, these decisions must be made deliberately, taking into account their potential impact on both operations and the business.
<h2 data-section-id="1gzpwez" data-start="4970" data-end="5017">The invisible dependencies between IT and OT</h2>
Complementing the points discussed above, there is another category of interdependencies that often receives less attention in conversations about IT/OT segmentation: shared corporate services.
One of the most common examples is the use of <a href="https://it-eam.com/blog/expert-desk/active-directory-security-the-most-common-attacks-and-their-defenses">Active Directory</a> as a centralized authentication and identity management mechanism within industrial environments.
While this approach provides significant benefits in terms of administration, standardization, and access control, it also creates a direct dependency between industrial operations and corporate infrastructure. In many environments, engineering workstations, industrial servers, and operator interfaces rely on corporate directory services for user authentication, policy enforcement, and access management.
These integrations are typically implemented to simplify administration, centralize authentication, ensure compliance, reduce operational costs, or improve asset visibility. The problem is that, over time, these connections stop being viewed as IT-to-OT integrations and start being treated as just another part of the infrastructure.
This raises an important question. Not only &#8220;Which OT systems are connected to IT?&#8221;. But also &#8220;Which corporate services have become dependencies of industrial operations without ever being formally mapped?&#8221;
Ultimately, the challenge is not simply protecting IT and OT environments independently. It is understanding how they actually interact within the operation. The greater the visibility into these interdependencies, the greater an organization’s ability to manage risk, strengthen segmentation strategies, and make security decisions based on the reality of the architecture rather than on diagrams alone.
However, understanding these connections is only the first step. Organizations must also validate whether existing security controls are capable of preventing legitimate integrations from becoming attack vectors.
This is where <a href="https://it-eam.com/pt/blog/seguranca/pentest-in-practice-how-to-identify-and-fix-vulnerabilities-before-an-attack">security assessments and penetration testing</a> become especially valuable, allowing organizations to verify, in a controlled manner, how an attacker could exploit existing pathways between IT and OT environments and what impact such exploitation could have on operations.
<h2 data-start="824" data-end="878">How to identify risks before they impact operations</h2>
Identifying vulnerabilities across IT and OT environments is important. But before that, organizations need to understand which connections actually exist between these environments.
During our security assessments and penetration testing projects, we frequently identify remote access paths, system integrations, corporate dependencies, and communication flows that were either undocumented or unknown to the teams responsible for operations.
This visibility enables organizations to:
<ul>
<li>Understand the real communication paths between IT and OT.</li>
<li>Identify integrations that expand the attack surface.</li>
<li>Validate the effectiveness of implemented segmentation controls.</li>
<li>Reduce operational and security risks.</li>
<li>Strengthen governance and compliance initiatives.</li>
</ul>
<h3 data-start="7245" data-end="7267">How iT.eam can help</h3>
At iT.eam, we combine offensive security expertise, architecture analysis, and penetration testing to help organizations understand not only where their vulnerabilities exist, but also how their environments are truly connected.
Beyond security assessments, we also support organizations in achieving continuous visibility into industrial environments through specialized OT solutions such as <a href="https://www.darktrace.com/products/operational-technology">Darktrace OT</a> and continuous security control validation platforms such as <a href="https://scythe.io/">Scythe</a>.
These technologies help identify assets, map communication flows, detect anomalous behavior, validate security controls, and gain a deeper understanding of the interdependencies between corporate and operational environments.
After all, it is impossible to protect what has not been mapped.
If your organization operates industrial environments or critical operations, <a href="https://it-eam.com/contact">talk to our specialists</a> and discover which connections between IT and OT may be going unnoticed within your architecture.
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Remote access, ERP-MES integrations, Active Directory, and third-party connections can create hidden pathways between IT and OT. Learn why mapping these dependencies is essential to reducing operational risks and strengthening industrial security.

capa-blog

When we talk about OT (Operational Technology) networks, it is common to immediately think of industrial machines, production lines, and the factory floor. However, this view only captures part of the importance of these environments. In practice, an OT network is the infrastructure that sustains a company’s physical operations, connecting systems, equipment, and processes responsible [&hellip;]

Security blind spots between your IT and OT networks