--- title: "What is OT Security? 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Operational Technology Explained", "item": "https://fire-vault.com/learn/what-is-ot-security" } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is OT security in plain English?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "It is the security of the hardware and software that runs physical processes on plants, sites and utilities. Unlike IT security, which usually protects data confidentiality first, OT security protects the availability of the process first, because an unavailable process is a safety event." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What does OT stand for in cyber security?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "OT stands for operational technology. In a cyber security context it refers to the industrial control systems and connected devices that monitor and control physical processes, as distinct from the office IT estate that handles email, documents and business applications." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is the difference between OT security and ICS security?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Industrial control systems (ICS) are a subset of operational technology. ICS security specifically covers PLCs, RTUs, DCS and SCADA. OT security is the broader term that also covers the networks, historians, engineering workstations and connected devices around them." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Why do OT estates need a physical air gap?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Because remote ransomware needs a reachable target and cloud recovery is often too slow or too expensive for a plant. A physical air gap keeps a known good copy of the OT gold data offline, isolated from the enterprise domain that ransomware compromises first, and available for restore at disk speed when it is needed." } } ] } ] --- Recent Breaches Breaches [2026 PowerSchool 62.4M records ](https://www.bleepingcomputer.com)[2026 DISA Global Solutions 3.3M records ](https://techcrunch.com)[2026 Globe Life 850K records ](https://www.securityweek.com)[2026 Lidl GB Customer contact data ](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jun/11/lidl-gb-third-party-data-breach)[2026 Asahi Group Production systems disrupted ](https://www.reuters.com/technology/cybersecurity/asahi-says-cyberattack-disrupted-operations-japan-2025-09-29/)[2026 Kido International 8K records ](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c623d7v0e5xo)[2026 Collins Aerospace (RTX) Check-in and boarding disruptio... ](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c789e7l1z7po)[2026 Jaguar Land Rover Production and IT systems disru... ](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2gx8p3rzeo)[2026 Peter Green Chilled Order and logistics data ](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0k7yy8n3g5o)[2026 Adidas UK Customer contact details ](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c78jkev1el2o)[2026 PowerSchool 62.4M records ](https://www.bleepingcomputer.com)[2026 DISA Global Solutions 3.3M records ](https://techcrunch.com)[2026 Globe Life 850K records ](https://www.securityweek.com)[2026 Lidl GB Customer contact data ](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jun/11/lidl-gb-third-party-data-breach)[2026 Asahi Group Production systems disrupted ](https://www.reuters.com/technology/cybersecurity/asahi-says-cyberattack-disrupted-operations-japan-2025-09-29/)[2026 Kido International 8K records ](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c623d7v0e5xo)[2026 Collins Aerospace (RTX) Check-in and boarding disruptio... ](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c789e7l1z7po)[2026 Jaguar Land Rover Production and IT systems disru... ](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2gx8p3rzeo)[2026 Peter Green Chilled Order and logistics data ](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0k7yy8n3g5o)[2026 Adidas UK Customer contact details ](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c78jkev1el2o) [View All →](/learn/breaches) [![Firevault - offline secure storage, physically disconnected from the internet](/assets/logo-color-DBVl0KCg.png)](/) Products Solutions [Why OSS](/why-oss) More [Help](/help)[Get started](/get-started) Why OSS # What is OT Security Operational technology security in plain English, the difference from IT, and why the availability first priority ranking makes a physical air gap the backbone of OT recovery. Book a demo ![Corridor of offline storage racks inside a Firevault bunker](/assets/hero-square-bunker-BC9Flanh.jpg) R5.1 Definitions ## Operational Technology, In Three Definitions Start with clean definitions for OT, ICS and what OT security actually defends against on an industrial estate. 01 Protecting the kit that runs the physical world ### OT security in one line OT security is the practice of protecting operational technology, the hardware and software that monitors and controls physical processes on plants, sites and utilities, from failure and attack. The priority ranking is availability first, then integrity, then confidentiality, because unavailability is a safety event. - Availability is the top priority - Safety cases drive design - Recovery is a first order requirement 02 PLCs, RTUs, DCS, SCADA and the systems around them ### What counts as OT OT covers the field devices, controllers and supervisory systems that run industrial processes: programmable logic controllers, remote terminal units, distributed control systems, SCADA, historians and the engineering workstations that program them. Together they are usually called OT/ICS. - PLC, RTU, DCS, SCADA - Historians and HMI - Engineering workstations 03 Ransomware, insider error and destructive attack ### What OT security actually protects against The threat model runs from accidental misconfiguration through insider error to targeted ransomware that specifically hunts industrial estates. In every case the outcome that matters is whether the plant can be restored quickly and safely from a known good copy. - Ransomware targeting OT - Insider and supplier risk - Destructive attacks on availability Continue reading on the pillar guide and the OT vs IT comparison. [OT and ICS security pillar guide](/learn/ot-ics-security-air-gap-storage) [OT vs IT security](/learn/ot-vs-it-security) [Physical air gap for ransomware protection](/learn/physical-air-gap-ransomware-protection) Questions ## OT Security, Common Questions Straight answers on how Offline Secure Storage® behaves in practice. ### What is OT security in plain English? ### What does OT stand for in cyber security? ### What is the difference between OT security and ICS security? ### Why do OT estates need a physical air gap? ![Mark Fermor](/assets/mark-fermor-C-vy1NeN.jpg) ![David Bailey](/assets/david-bailey-CnLw95Ao.jpg) ![Kenny Phipps](/assets/kenny-phipps-DxIqwaIL.jpg) Online Now Concierge ## Bring the offline gold copy into your OT plan Talk to the Firevault team about a physically disconnected copy of your OT gold data, isolated from the domain that ransomware compromises first. Takes about 2 minutes. No account needed. Find Out Free 2 mins No sign-up