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The boundary between information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) is dissolving fast. As digital operations accelerate across industries, such as utilities, manufacturing, healthcare and transportation, to name a few, new risk visibility opportunities have appeared, and attackers understand this shift all too well.
Nation‑state actors and sophisticated criminal groups are increasingly targeting OT environments through IT entry points, exploiting shared networks, poorly segmented systems, and human‑machine interfaces. The result is a parade of threats that demands SOC (Security Operations Centers) models capable of defending both the data, and the continuity of the operations themselves.
How can SOCs Adapt to Hybrid IT/OT Environments?
Traditional SOC frameworks are built for the IT world, focusing on log monitoring, endpoint detection, and network intrusion analysis. In an OT context, those concepts should extend. SOCs now need to interpret telemetry from industrial control systems (ICS), programmable logic controllers (PLCs), and sensors, each of which speaks a different “language” than cloud or enterprise tools. Integrating this data in a meaningful way requires new skill sets, cross‑functional processes, and a commitment to continuous learning, and while it is necessary, it isn’t easy.
A recent Trustwave report found that over 60% of energy and utility providers operate with partial or no integration between their IT and OT networks, and this brings to mind the Colonial Pipeline attack that is still heavily cited today.
The Colonial incident demonstrated how an IT‑side ransomware infection forced ‘operational technology’ shutdowns (halting all fuel distribution) for five days, creating physical supply shortages and $4.4 million in ransom payments.
It is evident that an adaptable SOC maturity model should progress to include compliance metrics, and, what’s more, resilience measures. This means fusing IT and OT monitoring under a common incident‑response function, feeding low‑latency alerting from both domains into correlated threat‑hunting workflows, and practicing joint response exercises that include engineering teams.
Visibility Is the First Defense
One of the largest challenges in converged security is simply seeing what exists. OT assets are often undocumented or operate on legacy protocols that provide minimal security telemetry. Network segmentation audits and asset discovery tools can help bridge this gap, revealing shadow devices and mapping communication flows between IT and OT segments.
When the same rigor of IT asset inventory is applied to industrial networks, and if it is coupled with continuous vulnerability management, teams will start to see that the defensible perimeters now protect the OT blind spots that were an issue.
How Can Organizations Build Collaborative Security Cultures Around Tools and Systems?
Technology alone cannot solve convergence risk; human collaboration plays an equally critical role. IT security teams tend to prioritize confidentiality and data . At the same time,ty, while OT engineers focus on availability and safety. Aligning these priorities takes a common language, shared risk assessments, and leadership that values cross‑disciplinary cooperation.
In 2022, Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) restructured its organization to fully integrate IT and OT operations under one leadership chain, bringing all operational technologies under the CIO’s office. This initiative eliminated silos, standardized governance, and enhanced coordination across infrastructure modernization projects such as data center relocations. The result was faster execution, clearer accountability, and improved interoperability across technology stacks.
Companies with unified security protocols, anchored by executive visibility and shared performance metrics, have an easier time creating collective accountability and all without sacrificing uptime or operational goals.
The Wrap Up
Security is changing fast, and IT and OT must move together, meaning teams need to share information and act as one. Consider single leadership over the fractured departments, or in the very leads work to instill a leadership stance that values cross‑disciplinary cooperation
Threat intelligence provides that shared view, while OSINT expands awareness beyond the network. A modern SOC uses both to detect, understand, and respond with precision. Resilience grows when every part of the operation learns, adapts, and defends together.