OT/ICS Cybersecurity Assessment

Identify and Prioritize Cybersecurity Risks in Your Industrial Control Systems

An OT/ICS cybersecurity assessment is a structured review of your industrial control systems covering assets, network architecture, communications, vulnerabilities, access paths and security governance. It identifies cyber risks and produces a prioritized remediation roadmap without disrupting safe, continuous operations.

Forti Vision delivers OT/ICS cybersecurity assessments for power utilities, oil and gas, water, manufacturing and critical infrastructure operators. Our assessments are led by engineers with 18+ years of hands-on experience in substation automation, SCADA and industrial networks, and hold GICSP and ISA/IEC 62443 certifications.

The result is a clear view of your current security posture, your highest-priority risks, and a practical roadmap aligned to IEC 62443, NIST SP 800-82 and your regulatory requirements.

Request an OT/ICS Cybersecurity Assessment

Why OT Cybersecurity Assessments Need an OT-Specific Approach

IT security assessment methods can harm operational technology environments if they are applied without adaptation. Aggressive network scanning, for example, can crash PLCs, RTUs or IEDs running on legacy firmware.

OT environments typically include:

Legacy equipment with long lifecycles and limited patching options
Proprietary and industrial protocols such as IEC 61850, DNP3 and Modbus
PLCs, RTUs, IEDs, HMIs, SCADA servers and historians
Engineering workstations and vendor remote access
Strict availability and safety requirements

Forti Vision assesses OT environments from both an engineering and a cybersecurity perspective. We favour passive, non-intrusive discovery and document review. Any active testing is agreed in advance with operations and scheduled to avoid disrupting production.

What Does an OT/ICS Cybersecurity Assessment Cover?

A Forti Vision assessment covers six areas: asset visibility, network architecture, vulnerabilities and configurations, industrial communications, access control, and security governance.

1. OT Asset Inventory and Visibility

You cannot protect assets you don’t know exist. We identify and classify OT assets, including:

PLCs, RTUs and IEDs
HMIs, SCADA servers and historians
Engineering workstations
Industrial switches, routers and firewalls
Remote access systems
Supporting servers and infrastructure

We highlight visibility gaps and help you build a structured, maintainable OT asset inventory.

2. OT Network Architecture and Segmentation

We review network design, communication paths and trust boundaries against the IEC 62443 zones and conduits model, including:

Control and supervisory networks
OT DMZ design
Enterprise (IT) to OT connectivity
Remote, engineering and third-party access paths
Network segmentation and firewall architecture

3. Vulnerability and Configuration Review

We identify security weaknesses in OT systems and supporting infrastructure, including:

Operating system and application hardening
Network device and firewall rule configuration
User accounts, authentication and unnecessary services
Patch management and compensating controls
Backup and recovery arrangements

4. Industrial Protocol and Communications Review

We analyze how systems communicate and where security controls should be applied. Protocols we assess include:

IEC 61850 (MMS, GOOSE, Sampled Values)
DNP3
Modbus TCP/RTU
OPC DA / OPC UA
MQTT
IEC 60870-5-104
SNMP and vendor-specific protocols

5. Access Control and Remote Access

We assess how employees, engineers, vendors and third parties reach OT systems, including:

Privileged and administrative access
Remote engineering and vendor access
Jump servers and VPNs
Multi-factor authentication
Account lifecycle management and access segregation

6. OT Security Governance

We evaluate the processes that keep OT security effective over time:

OT cybersecurity policies and responsibilities
Asset, vulnerability and change management
Incident response and recovery planning
Security monitoring
Third-party and supply chain access

Which Standards Do We Align To?

Forti Vision aligns each assessment to the frameworks that apply to your industry and region:

Standard / Framework	Typical Use
IEC 62443	International OT security standard. Core reference for gap assessments, zones and conduits, and security levels.
NIST SP 800-82	US guidance for securing industrial control systems
NERC CIP	Mandatory for bulk electric system operators in North America
UAE Information Assurance Regulation / DESC standards	UAE federal and Dubai critical infrastructure requirements
ISO/IEC 27001	Supporting information security management

Our 6-Step OT Cybersecurity Assessment Methodology

Understand: Define objectives, scope, operational constraints and applicable standards.
Discover: Identify assets, systems, communication paths and access mechanisms using OT-safe methods.
Assess: Evaluate architecture, configurations, vulnerabilities, access controls and existing measures.
Analyze: Determine the potential impact of each risk on safety, availability, integrity and confidentiality.
Prioritize: Rank findings by risk, operational impact and remediation effort.
Improve: Deliver a practical, phased remediation roadmap your team can act on.

Assessment Deliverables

Depending on scope, you receive:

OT asset inventory
Network architecture review and zone/conduit observations
IEC 62443 or regulatory compliance gap analysis
Vulnerability and configuration findings
OT risk assessment
Prioritized remediation recommendations
Multi-year OT cybersecurity roadmap
Executive summary report for management
Detailed technical report for engineering teams

Who Needs an OT/ICS Cybersecurity Assessment?

Our assessments serve organizations operating critical and industrial systems:

Power utilities: generation, transmission, distribution and substations
Oil and gas: upstream, midstream pipelines and refineries
Petrochemical plants
Water and wastewater utilities
Manufacturing and industrial facilities
Ports and critical infrastructure
Data centers with BMS, EPMS and industrial control systems

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an OT cybersecurity assessment?

An OT cybersecurity assessment evaluates the security of industrial control systems, including SCADA, PLCs, RTUs, IEDs and industrial networks. It identifies vulnerabilities, architecture weaknesses and governance gaps, then prioritizes remediation based on risk to safety and operations.

How is an OT security assessment different from an IT security assessment?

OT assessments prioritize availability and safety over confidentiality. They use passive, non-intrusive techniques suited to fragile legacy devices, and they account for industrial protocols such as IEC 61850, DNP3 and Modbus. They also reference OT-specific standards like IEC 62443 and NIST SP 800-82.

Will the assessment disrupt our operations?

No. Forti Vision uses passive discovery, configuration review and interviews as primary methods. Any active testing is agreed with your operations team in advance and scheduled during approved windows.

How long does an OT/ICS cybersecurity assessment take?

Duration depends on the number of sites, systems and the depth of testing. A single-site assessment typically takes [X–Y weeks] from kickoff to final report.

What is an IEC 62443 gap assessment?

An IEC 62443 gap assessment compares your current OT security controls against the requirements of the IEC 62443 series. The most commonly referenced parts are 62443-2-1 (security program), 62443-3-2 (risk assessment and zones/conduits) and 62443-3-3 (system security requirements). The output is a list of gaps and a roadmap to close them.

Do you provide OT cybersecurity assessments in the USA and UAE?

Yes. Forti Vision provides OT/ICS cybersecurity assessments across the United States and the United Arab Emirates, combining remote analysis with on-site work where required.

Do you offer fixed-fee assessments?

Yes. Fixed-fee IEC 62443 gap assessment packages are available for defined scopes. Contact us for a proposal.

Get a Clear Picture of Your OT Security Posture

A good assessment does more than list vulnerabilities. It tells you where your most important risks are and what to do about them first.