Who Actually Owns OT Cybersecurity? Not Who You Think

Dino and Craig break down what they are seeing in real industrial environments as companies begin the OT cybersecurity journey. They outline why most organizations are still in an “unaware to awareness” phase, what creates the “oh wow” moment after the first pilot, and why ownership and execution often falls to plant-floor teams and their OEM and integrator partners.

The conversation covers the limits of surface-level visibility, why accurate asset inventory and remote access control are foundational, and how practical constraints like flat networks, legacy switches, warranty concerns, and limited human capital can stall progress.

They also share cautionary examples of IT-first security tooling causing operational impact, and they close with a clear message: think globally, act locally, and build a defensible OT program that matches how plants actually run.

Chapters:

• (00:00:00) Why OT vulnerabilities and remote access are the real “kicker”
• (00:01:00) The market reality: 60% unaware, 30% starting, 10% operationalized
• (00:03:00) Who owns remediation: IT vs OT and the plant-floor accountability gap
• (00:05:00) Why “visibility” often stops at Purdue Level 3 and misses Level 2 assets
• (00:07:00) OEMs, integrators, and why support models matter in OT cybersecurity
• (00:09:00) Flat networks, north-south traffic, and why you still miss panel-level devices
• (00:11:00) The human capital problem and why outsourcing is often unavoidable
• (00:18:00) A real-world warning: EDR in ICS can create massive operational cost
• (00:20:00) Safety, quality, and cybersecurity: the three things leaders will fund
• (00:24:00) Change management failures and why monitoring PLC edits matters

Links And Resources:

• Want to Sponsor an episode or be a Guest? Reach out here.
• Industrial Cybersecurity Insider on LinkedIn
• Cybersecurity & Digital Safety on LinkedIn
• BW Design Group Cybersecurity
• Dino Busalachi on LinkedIn
• Craig Duckworth on LinkedIn

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