OT cybersecurity is moving to the forefront because the traditional isolation of industrial systems—the “air gap”—has largely disappeared.

Historically, OT systems in plants, utilities, and transportation were kept separate from IT networks. That’s changed as organizations connect OT to IT, cloud, and IIoT to reduce costs, improve productivity, and gain a competitive edge. This interconnectivity reshapes how operations run, but it also exposes OT to the same cyberthreats that have long targeted IT.

Several data points highlight why this matters now:

• Cyberattacks on OT systems surged by 73% in the last year.
• In a global survey of OT security professionals, nearly 50% experienced one or more incidents in the past year, leading to brand damage, loss of critical data, and productivity hits.
• The OT cybersecurity market is projected to grow from $12.75 billion in 2023 to about $21.6 billion by 2028, at a 9.2% CAGR, reflecting how quickly organizations are investing in protection.

At the same time, many OT environments still rely on legacy systems that are hard to patch and run 24x7, making downtime for updates difficult. The result is a broader attack surface, more frequent and sophisticated threats, and a clear need to rethink how OT security is planned and managed.

IT and OT environments are increasingly interconnected, but their security priorities are not the same—and that has real implications for risk management.

IT security is primarily focused on protecting data: confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information across computing and networking systems.

OT security is fundamentally about operational continuity and physical safety. OT systems control industrial processes in manufacturing plants, power stations, pipelines, railways, and other critical infrastructure. A successful OT breach can disrupt production, damage equipment, or even create health and safety issues.

Several factors make OT security distinct:

• Legacy and proprietary systems: Many industrial control systems (ICS/IACS) were deployed decades ago, based on proprietary technologies, and not designed with modern cybersecurity in mind.
• Limited patching windows: OT environments often run 24x7. Taking systems offline for patching can be impractical, and updates can introduce compatibility issues.
• Workforce maturity: The majority of the ICS/OT cybersecurity workforce—52.6%—has been in the field for five years or less, and less than half hold OT-specific certifications.

Because of these differences, simply extending IT security tools into OT is not enough. Organizations need an approach that:

• Understands OT protocols, devices, and processes
• Prioritizes uptime and safety while improving security
• Addresses common OT attack vectors like spear phishing, compromised endpoints, and inadequate segmentation between IT and OT

This is why many organizations are maturing their OT posture by integrating OT security under the CISO. According to Fortinet data, the share of organizations that have done this rose from 16% in 2022 to 52% in 2025, reflecting a more unified but OT-aware security strategy.

Many organizations have accumulated a mix of point security solutions to solve individual problems. Over time, this can create silos, complexity, and gaps—especially across interconnected IT and OT environments.

A platform-based approach reimagines security as an integrated system rather than a collection of tools. The Fortinet OT Security Platform is designed around this idea and focuses on:

1. Unified visibility across IT, OT, and IIoT
   FortiGate Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs), together with FortiSwitch, FortiAP, and FortiExtender, provide application and network visibility by classifying users, applications, and devices across IT and OT. This helps identify the full digital attack surface.
2. Intent-based segmentation and risk-based controls
   Using FortiOS, assets are discovered, classified, and assigned dynamic risk scores. Organizations can then group assets into secured zones and enforce tailored policies. This supports:
• Segmentation between IT and OT to limit lateral movement
• Baseline privileges for each OT asset
• Protection of critical systems while still enabling data flows
3. Integrated threat intelligence and automation
   Through the Fortinet Security Fabric, tools share threat intelligence and correlate events centrally. AI-driven FortiGuard services support:
• Detection of known and unknown threats
• Continuous trust assessment from multiple points in the network
• Automated responses, such as isolating compromised assets, without disrupting production when configured in monitor-and-alert mode
4. Centralized operations and management
   The platform is managed from a single pane of glass, simplifying operations for security and network teams and supporting SOC and NOC workflows, including OT-specific incident reporting where available.

The Fortinet OT Security Platform is built to support five critical use cases across interconnected digital ecosystems:

• WAN security
• LAN security
• Advanced threat protection
• Security automation, operations, and management
• Third-party vendor integrations

This platform approach helps organizations move along an OT security maturity path—from no visibility and segmentation to leveraging orchestration and automation—while aligning with frameworks like the Purdue Enterprise Reference Architecture and leading regulations and standards.