Learn
Learning paths
Pick the path that matches your role. Each one sequences the atlas into a route you can actually work through.
Foundational
OT Fundamentals
Understand what OT is, how the terminology fits together, and how an industrial environment is put together.
Intermediate
OT Security Analyst
Interpret OT telemetry, triage alerts with process context, and know when to escalate.
Advanced
OT Threat Hunter
Run structured, protocol-aware hunts against OT data sources.
Advanced
OT Network Architect
Design zones, conduits, a DMZ and remote access that engineering will actually accept.
Intermediate
Controls Engineer → Security
Map familiar process knowledge onto security concepts and controls.
Intermediate
Security Engineer → OT
Unlearn the IT reflexes that are unsafe in OT and apply the right controls instead.
Expert
OT Security Leader
Build, prioritise and measure an OT security programme.
Standards
Standards guides
Deep dives on the standards OT programmes are measured against.
Terminology
How the terms relate
OT, ICS, SCADA, DCS, SIS, CPS and IIoT are related but not interchangeable.
IT → OT
Distinct domains that increasingly share technology and must exchange data through controlled paths.
OT → ICS
ICS is the industrial control subset of OT; OT also covers building systems, facilities and more.
ICS → SCADA
SCADA is a supervisory architecture pattern within ICS, typically for distributed assets.
ICS → DCS
DCS is a plant-scoped control architecture within ICS, typically for continuous processes.
ICS → SIS
Safety systems are independent protection layers, deliberately separate from basic process control.
CPS → OT
CPS is the broadest term: any system where computation is coupled to physical processes, including medical and building CPS.
CPS → IIoT
IIoT devices are cyber-physical, often deployed outside traditional control architectures and reaching cloud services directly.
Mindset
What changes when you move from IT to OT
Primary priority
IT: Confidentiality, then integrity and availability
OT: Safety and availability, then integrity; confidentiality usually last
Availability
IT: Planned downtime is normal
OT: Downtime may be measured in lost production or public service
Safety
IT: Rarely a direct factor
OT: Physical harm is a credible consequence
Patching
IT: Frequent, often automated
OT: Vendor-validated, scheduled into maintenance windows
Lifecycle
IT: 3–5 years
OT: 10–30 years; unsupported systems are common
Protocols
IT: Standard, generally authenticated and encrypted
OT: Industrial protocols, frequently unauthenticated by design
Operating systems
IT: Current, centrally managed
OT: Mixed, including embedded and end-of-life systems
Change windows
IT: Weekly or on demand
OT: Tied to outages and turnarounds
Consequences
IT: Data loss, financial and reputational
OT: Physical, environmental, safety and community impact
Monitoring
IT: Agents and active scanning
OT: Passive collection preferred; active probing can disrupt
Incident response
IT: Isolate and rebuild quickly
OT: Coordinate with operations; safety and process stability come first