Manufacturing IT and OT security blueprint
Corporate IT sits beside legacy controllers that cannot be casually patched or taken offline. A flat network lets an office PC become a plant incident.
Sample solution, not a client deployment
Situation
Office, logistics and MES computers share a network with SCADA and PLCs. Controllers are fragile, vendors connect remotely, and production windows are rare.
Risk
Ransomware on one office PC can reach the plant floor. Treating controllers like laptops, or adding an "OT antivirus" first, creates its own production risk.
Approach
- WithSecure Elements EPP plus EDR on corporate, logistics and MES endpoints that can run an agent.
- Jump hosts into OT treated as high-risk IT: Elements, least privilege and MFA.
- An industrial-capable edge: explicit IT-to-OT conduits, default-deny between cells, WAN administration locked.
- Plant walkthrough before any OT change; hardware class follows the walkthrough.
Outcome we would aim for
IT and OT kept apart, so an office incident stays an office incident, with controllers left alone and every path into the plant explicit and logged.
How we would roll it out
Walkthrough
Map plant cells, controllers, vendor remote access and change windows.
Protect IT
WithSecure Elements on office, logistics and MES endpoints.
Harden jump hosts
Least privilege, MFA and monitoring on every path into OT.
Segment the plant
Industrial-capable edge, explicit conduits, default-deny between cells.
Operate
Review conduits and exposures each quarter; MDR where night shifts need it.
Get the Cyber Health Check
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Frequently asked questions
Will you install agents on our PLCs?
No. Agents stay on IT hosts that can run them. The plant is protected by segmentation and a dedicated edge, planned after a walkthrough and inside your change windows.
Is this a past client project?
No. It is a sample solution for a common Philippine scenario, not a client deployment.
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