What Can OT Asset Discovery Reveal?

From undocumented devices to obsolete systems and unexpected connections, discover what an OT asset discovery exercise can uncover. 

An OT asset inventory is valuable because of what it can reveal about the industrial environment. 

Drawings and asset registers show what an organisation believes is installed. 

Asset discovery can help establish what is actually there.

Unnecessary communications 

Understanding which systems communicate with one another can highlight connections that are no longer required. 

This information can support future network segmentation and help reduce unnecessary exposure between systems. 

Unmanaged infrastructure 

Industrial environments can contain switches and network devices that are not included within existing drawings. 

These may create connections between systems that are not immediately obvious from higher-level architecture diagrams. 

Legacy communications 

Not everything communicates over Ethernet. 

Serial networks, proprietary systems and gateways between old and new technologies can all form part of the wider OT environment. 

Physical inspection can help ensure these are included. 

Closing the documentation gap 

Comparing the discovered environment against existing drawings and asset information can quickly highlight where documentation is no longer accurate. 

The resulting information can then provide a stronger baseline for engineering, maintenance and cybersecurity activities. 

A clearer understanding of your installed systems can expose risks that existing documentation may not show. FAIRFIELDS can help you build that picture.