1. Operational Technology Information TechnologyVS
Information Technology
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Terrell Brown, IT Supervisor
Greensboro Water Resources Department

2. What is OT & IT? OT Operational Technology
-Includes SCADA, DCS, PCS, etc.
supervisory control and data acquisition, distributed control systems, process control systems
-Generally covered by ICS
Industrial Control Systems IT
Information Technology
-IP Networks (Internet Protocol)
-Active Directory and other credentialing systems
-Switches, routers, bridges, servers, workstations

3. A Brief History
Operational technology systems and information technology systems were traditionally separated.
OT networks are administered by electronics technicians, electricians, maintenance staff, and other industrial control professionals.
IT networks are administered by network administrators, and other computer professionals.
Still very much the case but many of these systems are integrating and bringing IT staff and OT staff closer together.

4. Operational Technology
Consist of:
Sensors, gauges, meters, pumps, valves, alarms, etc.
Controllers (PLC’s, RTU’s)
Human Machine Interfaces (HMI)
Servers
Networks (various protocols)
Database and reporting systems

5. Information Technology
Consist of:
IP Based Networks (LAN/WAN)
Workstations, Servers
Switches, Routers, etc.
Databases
Reporting systems
Wireless connectivity
Software development
Maintenance of hardware and software
Security (antivirus, logging, threat monitoring and analysis)

6. Where They Overlap Consist of: Networks (IP most common)
Computers (Workstations/Servers)
Switches, Routers, etc.
Databases
Reporting systems
Wireless connectivity
Software development
Maintenance of hardware and software
Security (antivirus, logging, threat monitoring and analysis)

7. World Wide Web of Danger
- As more and more ICS users integrate new technology, such as IP cameras, workstations, computers and other equipment that use or require an IP based network, the vulnerabilities increase dramatically.
- Some ICS networks have a requirement to push data over a corporate network in order to assist in higher level reporting, maintenance, or monitoring. In some cases, remote control is being implemented, particularly over corporate networks and the internet.
- These trends require the use of appropriate network switches, routers, and firewalls to “make up” for the loss of ICS air gaps.

8. Air Gaps Gain Bridges
- Air gaps are becoming increasingly troublesome as demand for data and control across multi-facility networks increases.
- With the advent of routing/switching/firewall technology, as well as dedicated wireless machine-to-machine networks, comes greater access to ICS networks which is great for productivity and bad for security.
- What used to required physical access to a facility may now be possible from anywhere in the world. If there is a network connection then there is no longer an air gap protecting your ICS network.

9. Data, Applications, and Administration
- Another area of concern as industrial control systems become more integrated into IT is support for computers, servers, databases and even custom application development.
- There is a need for the IT group to consult the OT group in order to help provide resources.
- This is not merely a collision of “old school” vs “new school” but a difference of purpose built networks vs multipurpose networks.
- The two different cultures of technology that evolved parallel now need to interact with each other.
- Typically the IT side dominates the design and infrastructure because that is what most OT systems now operate on for reasons of costs, support, and familiarity.

10. We All Need Help From Time to Time
Network Engineers and Administrators
Help design, setup, protect, and maintain your networks that all devices will be capable of using. They would maintain Active Directory or similar user/device management systems, storage area networks, server administration, etc.
Database Administrators
Setup, maintain, and protect the database systems that collect your control system data, develop or assist in developing reports, data views for other applications. Examples would include Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, etc.
Application/Software Developers
Creates customer software for workstation, server, web, or mobile use. This can be control, analysis, data entry, or monitoring software.
Cyber Security Experts
Charged with securing, analyzing security vulnerabilities, and establishing a threat assessment that should provide a roadmap for securing your network from being compromised – from outside or inside.
Helpdesk and Computer Technicians
Assist in specifying computers, setting up computer equipment, proving appropriate technical support for issues.
ICS Subject Matter Experts already working on the IT side
An ICS expert that works in IT can greatly assist in bridging the language and trust gap between OT and IT.

11. Consider Your Differences
Realize that IT is non-deterministic as their networks are required to take on many different types of users, systems, devices, and paths.
OT is very specific or narrowly focused on what is and is not connected, what endpoints have communication to other endpoints, and the pathways are very keenly designed.
The same goes for applications, internet/remote access, databases, security, and interfaces.
Changes happen at different rates for different reasons with OT versus IT.
Remember that in an OT network, the control systems have priority over the computers and networks, where in IT the health of the network tends to take priority over the health of individual computers and servers.

12. Develop a Plan to Merge Gather all of your stakeholders and experts.
Determine your needs as a group by discussing requirements and expectations.
IT focuses on security and disaster recovery.
OT focuses on operability and uptime.
Find the medium that works for both systems but also reduces factors on reliability and security.
Minimize external connections.
Create redundancies to increase reliability
Consider using standards that are not obscure to the industry. Standards are updated regularly and information is shared throughout the industry.
As a matter of security and reliability, carefully assess the available knowledge and experience with solutions your team has identified.
Some proprietary systems may not be well known to hackers but that may also mean availability of experts is sparse and more prominent systems may be well known in the industry also making it well known to the hacker community.

13. Remember - Do not compromise security for convenience!
- Consider regular maintenance windows to perform updates
- Needing to run 100% of the time is not an excuse for not performing maintenance. Consider building redundant systems.
- Follow industry proven best practices when you can
- OT People: IT is here to assist you, most of the time
- IT People: OT have critical infrastructure that must keep running
- Know your threats; security, system failure, disaster and be prepared

14. Questions