This blog was written by Garland Technology’s channel partner OT Cyber Direct. It is part of a 5-part series detailing recommendations for SMBs (small and medium sized businesses) to implement effective OT security measures within realistic budgets. If you are a SMB with an OT network, be sure to visit their blog page to read the entire series.
You've built robust perimeter defenses and implemented comprehensive network segmentation. Your OT environment is significantly more secure than it was five months ago. But here's the reality: attacks will still happen. When they do, your ability to quickly detect, understand, and respond to threats will determine whether you experience a minor security incident or a catastrophic operational shutdown.
For SMBs, traditional OT intrusion detection systems (IDS) create more problems than they solve. Enterprise-focused IDS platforms generate thousands of alerts daily, require dedicated security analysts to tune and manage, and often provide more noise than actionable intelligence. You need monitoring solutions that work with your limited resources while providing clear, actionable insights when threats actually matter.
Traditional OT IDS systems are designed for large enterprises with dedicated security operations centers (SOCs). They generate alerts for every anomaly, protocol deviation, and unusual communication pattern. For SMBs, this creates several critical problems:
Information Overload: 500-2000 alerts per day is not uncommon with traditional IDS deployments
False Positive Fatigue: 95%+ of alerts are false positives that trained analysts must investigate
Resource Drain: Each alert requires 15-30 minutes of investigation time from already stretched IT staff
Real Threats Get Missed: Critical alerts get buried in the noise of routine operational anomalies
Enterprise IDS solutions require extensive tuning to reduce false positives:
Months of Baseline Learning: 3-6 months to establish normal operational patterns
Continuous Adjustment: Weekly tuning sessions to address new false positive sources
Expert Knowledge Required: Deep understanding of both cybersecurity and industrial protocols
Operational Impact: Tuning often requires production system analysis during maintenance windows
SMB Reality Check: Most SMBs don't have the staff time, expertise, or maintenance windows required for proper IDS tuning
The result is either overwhelming alert volumes or systems configured so conservatively they miss real threats.
The next generation of OT monitoring solutions leverages artificial intelligence to dramatically reduce false positives while maintaining high detection accuracy. These platforms learn normal operational patterns automatically and only alert on genuinely suspicious activities.
Behavioral Learning: AI engines automatically establish baselines for normal industrial communications without manual configuration
Contextual Analysis: Understand the difference between normal operational changes and security threats
Pattern Recognition: Identify complex attack patterns that rule-based systems miss
Automated Filtering: Reduce alert volumes by 90%+ while maintaining detection effectiveness
IOT 365 represents the new generation of AI-powered OT security platforms specifically designed for resource-constrained environments.
NVIDIA AI Integration: Leverages NVIDIA's advanced AI and machine learning capabilities for industrial protocol analysis
Automatic Baseline Learning: Establishes normal operational patterns within days, not months
Intelligent Alert Prioritization: Uses AI to rank alerts by actual risk and business impact
Minimal False Positives: Reduces alert volume by 95% compared to traditional IDS while maintaining detection accuracy
Key Advantages for SMBs:
IOT 365 Implementation for SMBs:
Darktrace Industrial:
Nozomi Networks Vantage:
CyberX (Microsoft Defender for IoT):
Incident response in OT environments requires balancing security concerns with operational continuity. Your incident response procedures must account for the unique characteristics of industrial systems.
Operational Continuity: Production systems can't be shut down for forensic analysis during normal operations
Safety Systems: Security incidents may impact life safety systems requiring immediate response
Regulatory Requirements: Many OT incidents require regulatory notification within specific timeframes
Vendor Dependencies: Response may require equipment vendor involvement for specialized systems
Phase 1: Detection and Initial Assessment (0-30 minutes)
Phase 2: Containment and Stabilization (30 minutes - 2 hours)
Phase 3: Investigation and Analysis (2-24 hours)
Phase 4: Recovery and Restoration (Hours to days)
Phase 5: Post-Incident Activities (Days to weeks)
Primary Response Team:
Extended Response Team:
External Resources:
Core Capabilities:
Alert Volume: 50-100 alerts per week with proper configuration
Staffing Impact: 2-4 hours per week for alert review and response.
OT monitoring and security requires visibility (i.e., a mirrored copy) of all OT network traffic. Hardware Data Diodes and Data Diode Network TAPs are useful and cost-effective solutions providing an essential complementary technology to securely obtain copies of the OT network data and deliver it to these security solutions. This traffic is then analyzed by these sensors.
There are situations where the use of SPAN/Mirror ports will be used to connect these sensors in OT networks. In these instances, it is best practice to connect a hardware Data Diode between the SPAN/Mirror port and the sensor to pass the mirrored data onto the sensor. Using hardware Data Diodes eliminates bidirectional traffic flow ensuring that no data is passed back into the Switch’s SPAN/Mirror port.
A portable Hardware Data Diode or Data Diode TAP installed between the SPAN/Mirror Port and the sensor ensures the sensor receives the copies of traffic it requires to perform as intended and ensures the sensor cannot send traffic back into the network via packet injection. The Hardware Data Diode or Data Diode TAP enforces one-way data flow for SPAN links with physical hardware separation inside the device. Should the sensor become compromised, the Hardware Data Diode or Data Diode TAP will prevent malicious code or activity from entering the OT network through the Switch.
Alert Management Best Practices
Critical (Immediate Response Required):
High Priority (Response Within 4 Hours):
Medium Priority (Response Within 24 Hours):
Low Priority (Weekly Review):
Network Isolation: Automatically isolate suspicious devices while maintaining safety system communications
Access Revocation: Automatically disable compromised user accounts or suspicious remote access sessions
Backup Activation: Trigger backup systems when primary systems show signs of compromise
Notification Escalation: Automatically escalate alerts based on severity and response time requirements
Scheduled Maintenance Integration:
Security Status Reporting:
Mean Time to Detection (MTTD): Average time from incident occurrence to detection
False Positive Rate: Percentage of alerts that don't represent actual security threats
Coverage: Percentage of network assets with active monitoring
Alert Accuracy: Percentage of high-priority alerts that require actual response
Mean Time to Response (MTTR): Average time from detection to initial response
Mean Time to Containment (MTTC): Average time to isolate and contain security threats
Mean Time to Recovery (MTR): Average time to restore normal operations after incidents
Response Effectiveness: Percentage of incidents successfully contained without operational impact
Prevented Downtime: Estimated production time saved through early threat detection
Cost Avoidance: Estimated financial impact of prevented security incidents
Compliance Improvement: Improvement in security audit scores and regulatory compliance
Insurance Benefits: Impact on cyber insurance premiums and claims
AI-Powered Intelligence: Leverage artificial intelligence to reduce alert fatigue while maintaining detection effectiveness
Your OT security program is not a destination—it's an ongoing journey of continuous improvement:
A comprehensive SMB OT security program, implemented over 12 months:
Essential Program ($35K-$50K):
Enhanced Program ($50K-$75K):
Comprehensive Program ($75K-$100K):
Remember: The cost of a comprehensive OT security program is typically 10-20% of the cost of a single major cyber incident. You're not spending money on security—you're investing in operational continuity and business resilience.
By focusing on practical, well-implemented security controls that match your operational requirements and organizational capabilities, SMBs can achieve robust protection against real-world threats while maintaining the operational reliability your business depends on.
The future of OT security lies not in complexity, but in intelligent, AI-powered solutions that work with limited resources while providing superior protection against the threats that actually matter to your business.
Looking to add monitoring and security to your OT network, but not sure where to start? Join us for a brief network Design-IT evaluation or demo. No obligation - it’s what we love to do.