According to Xage Security, organizations are leveraging Zero Trust to strengthen enterprise safety, security, and reliability across their IT and OT environments.
Introducing zero trust security in the industrial sector
This report analyzes the current state and trajectory of zero trust security adoption within industry organizations, with a particular focus on critical infrastructure and manufacturing sectors.
The growing and evolving threat landscape has made cybersecurity a top priority for infrastructure operators around the world. New cybersecurity challenges are coming to the forefront for IT and OT systems, requiring more stringent security standards.
The report found that evident Zero Trust is gradually gaining traction and prominence in industry and is being actively integrated into security programs.
“While Zero Trust is not a one-size-fits-all model, data shows that organizations are increasingly understanding it as a strategy to enhance the safety, security, and reliability of both their IT and OT environments. ” said Jonathan Gordon, industry analyst at TakePoint Research. “Industry is taking action and recognizing the need to accelerate the adoption of Zero Trust to protect our nation’s, and the world’s, critical infrastructure from cyberattacks.”
Budget cuts in many areas have increased the appeal of cost-effective cybersecurity solutions, such as Zero Trust, which is known for its scalability and savings potential. Zero Trust is particularly valuable in his OT settings, as it makes it easy to integrate an economical security layer into existing frameworks, allowing significant risk mitigation without overhauling the system.
Organizations are concerned about data sharing
72% of organizations have begun adopting Zero Trust principles, and 38% have established, implemented, and optimized Zero Trust management measures.
78% express concerns or serious concerns about data sharing. Ensuring the security of data and protecting it from unauthorized access and tampering is a top concern for 55% of respondents.
Respondents' top three challenges when it comes to securing their OT environment were IT/OT integration (77%), protecting against ransomware threats (76%), and modernizing remote access (55%).
Although survey respondents appear to have a wide range of remote access solutions in place, they express significant concerns about these solutions. Specifically, 68% of respondents said their current solution is complex, both in terms of ease of use and management.
Additionally, 64% say they lack the functionality needed to comply with new regulations, and 61% cite scalability issues with existing solutions as a major concern.
Industries are embracing transformation at varying rates, and the integration of IT/OT and digital transformation is the path to progress. But the oil and gas deal lags at 35%.
“Amidst the market turmoil surrounding various Zero Trust strategies, it is clear that organizations are now eagerly navigating Zero Trust strategies and refining their approaches,” said Sri Sundaralingam, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Xage. says. “Survey findings highlight the growing adoption of Zero Trust across industry sectors, with the aim of mitigating critical business risks while driving digital transformation alongside new business initiatives. .”
