OT Security - Securing Industrial & Manufacturing Environments in 2025 with Armis and Microsegmentation

Industrial and Manufacturing OT Security: The 2025 Landscape

The manufacturing sector faces unprecedented cybersecurity challenges heading into 2025. With operational technology (OT) environments increasingly targeted, industrial organizations must fundamentally transform their approach to security. The convergence of IT and OT systems has created an expanded attack surface that sophisticated adversaries are actively exploiting.

Manufacturing OT Attack Statistics: The Growing Threat in 2023-2024

The manufacturing sector became the prime target for cyberattacks in 2023-2024, accounting for 25.7% of all cyber incidents. Most concerning was that ransomware was involved in 71% of these attacks. Organizations experienced an average downtime of 11 days per incident, with 74% of attacks resulting in data encryption - the highest encryption rate for the sector in five years. On average, 44% of computers in manufacturing environments were impacted during each incident.

In 2024, several significant cybersecurity incidents in the manufacturing and industrial sectors involved lateral movement from Operational Technology (OT) devices to corporate networks. Notable cases include:

• Schneider Electric Cyberattack (November 2024): A hacker claimed to have accessed over 40 gigabytes of critical data from Schneider Electric's internal project tracking platform. The breach, attributed to the Hellcat group, did not impact the company's products and services. The attackers demanded a $125,000 ransom.

• Gijón Bio-Energy Plant Ransomware Attack (May 18, 2024): The RansomHub group accessed the plant's Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, encrypting and exfiltrating over 400 GB of data. This attack had the potential to halt production and disrupt waste and energy management processes.

• Allied Telesis, Inc. Ransomware Attack (May 27, 2024): The LockBit ransomware group encrypted corporate files and stole sensitive data from this telecommunications equipment supplier, disrupting operations. The exfiltrated data dated back to 2005, with threats to release it publicly if ransom demands were unmet.

• Targus Cyberattack (April 5, 2024): The U.S.-based manufacturer of mobile computing accessories experienced a cyberattack that disrupted its operations after malicious actors accessed its file servers. The incident was contained with the help of cybersecurity consultants, resulting in a temporary interruption of business operations.

• Hoya Corporation Ransomware Attack (March 30, 2024): The Japanese lens maker's corporate headquarters and several business divisions experienced an IT system incident, leading to operational disruptions and delays in delivering orders. The Hunters International ransomware gang demanded a $10 million ransom for a file decryptor and for not releasing files stolen during the attack.

Armis Asset Intelligence: Transforming Industrial OT Security

Recognized as a leader in the 2024 GigaOm Radar Report, Armis has revolutionized how organizations approach OT security. The Armis Centrix™ platform provides comprehensive visibility across IT, OT, IoT, and IoMT devices - a critical capability for modern industrial environments. This platform delivers real-time asset inventory and risk assessment without disrupting operations, making it ideal for manufacturing environments where traditional security scanning can interfere with critical processes.

Elisity Microsegmentation: Securing Industrial Networks

Microsegmentation has emerged as a crucial strategy for protecting industrial environments. Elisity's approach enables organizations to create secure zones within their networks, controlling communication between different operational areas while maintaining necessary workflows. The integration between Armis and Elisity creates a powerful security framework, enabling organizations to implement true zero-trust architecture while maintaining operational efficiency.

Meeting IEC 62443 Standards in Manufacturing Environments

The IEC 62443 standard provides comprehensive guidelines for industrial cybersecurity, emphasizing network segmentation as a fundamental security control. Elisity's microsegmentation solution helps organizations meet these requirements by enabling precise control over communication between different zones and conduits within the industrial network. This approach allows organizations to maintain compliance while improving their overall security posture.

Industrial OT Security Frameworks and Regulations for 2025

Manufacturing organizations must navigate evolving regulatory requirements. The Network and Information Systems Directive (NIS2) has introduced stricter requirements for protecting critical infrastructure. The Critical Entities Resilience (CER) Directive focuses on ensuring operational resilience through improved network architecture and security controls. The NIST Cybersecurity Framework continues to emphasize network isolation and access control in industrial environments.

Armis and Elisity Integration: Comprehensive OT Protection

The integration between Armis and Elisity creates a particularly powerful security framework. Through API connectivity, asset data from Armis enriches device discovery and identity in Elisity's IdentityGraph, enhancing the precision of asset classification and security policy enforcement. This integration enables organizations to implement granular security controls while maintaining operational efficiency.

Implementing Zero Trust in Manufacturing Environments

Zero trust principles in industrial environments represent a fundamental shift in security strategy. Rather than assuming devices within the network can be trusted, this approach requires continuous verification of every device and communication attempt. The combination of Armis's asset intelligence and Elisity's asset discovery, enrichment, and correlation of identity and CMDB metadata and microsegmentation enables organizations to implement this approach without disrupting critical operations.

Future of Industrial OT Security: 2025 and Beyond

As we progress through 2025, AI-driven security solutions are becoming increasingly sophisticated, enabling more accurate threat detection and response. The integration between IT and OT security tools continues to improve, enabling more comprehensive security coverage. Supply chain security has emerged as a critical concern, with organizations implementing stronger controls over third-party access to their networks.

Securing Manufacturing OT: Success Metrics and ROI

Organizations implementing comprehensive OT security solutions report significant improvements in their security posture. Key metrics include reduced incident response time, improved compliance posture, and enhanced visibility across their device ecosystem. The combination of Armis asset intelligence and Elisity microsegmentation has proven particularly effective in reducing the impact of security incidents and maintaining operational continuity.

Building Resilient Industrial OT Security for 2025

The protection of industrial OT environments requires a comprehensive approach that combines Armis's robust asset intelligence with Elisity's advanced identity-based microsegmentation. This combination enables organizations to effectively protect their critical infrastructure while meeting regulatory requirements and maintaining operational efficiency.

For manufacturing organizations looking to enhance their security posture in 2025, the integration of Armis asset intelligence and Elisity microsegmentation provides a powerful foundation for comprehensive protection. The time to act is now, as the threat landscape continues to evolve and the stakes continue to rise.

As Forrester Research recently stated in the Forrester Wave™: Microsegmentation Solutions, Q3 2024 “We're Living In The Golden Age Of Microsegmentation” stands out as a crucial strategy for preventing lateral movement and minimizing the impact of east-west attacks in manufacturing and industrial environments.

When you are ready to enhance your cybersecurity with state-of-the-art microsegmentation, schedule a call or demo with Elisity and learn how our solutions enable manufacturers and industrial companies and their critical infrastructure leaders to ensure compliance and maintain operational excellence in the face of evolving cyber threats.