Key Takeaways

Operational Technology (OT) environments face growing cyber risks due to legacy systems and expanding attack surfaces.

Splunk enables real-time threat detection, automated response, and unified visibility across IT and OT systems.

Edge AI and machine learning enhance OT anomaly detection and predictive security.

The Splunk OT Security Solution Accelerator simplifies deployment and compliance management.

OT data collection and management best practices improve observability and reduce response times.

Unified IT and OT security drives proactive resilience in critical infrastructure.

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Operational Technology (OT) environments, such as industrial control systems (ICS), SCADA, and manufacturing networks, form the backbone of critical infrastructure. Yet, they are now prime targets for sophisticated cyberattacks. Recent findings from the Cost of a Data Breach Report reveal that 15% of organizations experienced incidents impacting their OT environments, with nearly a quarter reporting physical damage to systems or equipment. 

These breaches cost an average of USD 4.56 million, slightly above the global average of USD 4.44 million, and underscore the financial and operational stakes of OT cybersecurity.

Compounding the risk, IBM’s X-Force Vulnerability Database reported 670 disclosed OT-impacting vulnerabilities in the first half of 2025, with almost half rated “Critical” or “High,” and 21% of critical flaws already exploitable. This surge in exploitable weaknesses highlights how the growing integration of IT and OT networks has eroded traditional security boundaries.

As IT and OT networks converge, traditional IT tools can’t deliver the real-time visibility or resilience OT environments demand. Organizations now need adaptive, data-driven security built for continuous operations. This blog explores how OT security monitoring with Splunk let organizations strengthen defenses through real-time visibility, automation, and unified threat detection across critical infrastructure.

What Are the Best Operational Technology (OT) Security Solutions Available Today?

Modern operational technology security solutions must bridge IT-OT visibility gaps while maintaining reliability and uptime. The most effective platforms combine:

• Comprehensive data aggregation across sensors, devices, and control systems.
  
• Machine learning (ML) analytics for anomaly detection and behavioral monitoring.
  
• Real-time dashboards and alerting to accelerate incident response.
  
• Edge AI for localized threat detection at the device or plant level.
  
• Automated workflows that ensure timely remediation of detected threats.

Among these, Splunk stands out for its scalability, deep protocol integration, and ability to unify IT and OT telemetry for rapid, data-driven security decisions.

How Can Splunk Be Used for OT Security Monitoring and Threat Detection?

OT security with Splunk revolves around real-time observability. Splunk ingests and correlates machine data from OT devices, sensors, and control systems to identify anomalies and detect potential attacks.

Key features include:

• Real-time OT security analytics powered by Splunk’s machine learning toolkit.
  
• Correlation of IT and OT data for holistic visibility across the enterprise.
  
• Automated incident response workflows, enabling faster mitigation and fewer manual steps.
  
• Customizable dashboards for continuous threat monitoring across multiple facilities.

Splunk’s integration capabilities extend to the collection of data from Cyber Physical Systems or OT Intrusion Detection Systems, which allows enrichment of data across various cybersecurity solutions.

How Does the Splunk OT Security Solution Accelerator Simplify OT Security?

The Splunk OT Security Solution Accelerator helps organizations quickly operationalize OT monitoring and protection through ready-to-deploy use cases and proven architectures. It provides pre-built dashboards, correlation searches, and anomaly detection templates that make it easier to detect threats, validate security controls, and ensure continuous compliance with standards such as NIST and IEC 62443. 

Beyond accelerating deployment, it offers detailed architectural guidance, data collection methods, and installation support tailored to the complexities of OT environments.

Key Use Cases for OT Security

The Solution Accelerator for OT Security supports a range of real-world use cases, including:

• OT security perimeter monitoring
  
• Remote access oversight
  
• External media device tracking
  
• Industrial protocol visibility

Each use case is supported by pre-built analysis queries, visual dashboards, and customizable knowledge objects, which allow security teams to adapt them to their specific environments.

Proven Architecture for Faster OT Security Results

Splunk’s Solution Accelerator provides a comprehensive toolkit designed for scalability and compliance. It includes:

• Reference architectures for deploying Splunk across on-premises, hybrid, or cloud-based OT environments.
  
• A dedicated app (for Splunk Enterprise or Splunk Cloud Platform) tailored for OT security analytics.
  
• Pre-configured searches and dashboards aligned with core OT security use cases.
  
• Compliance-ready reports that simplify audit preparation and ongoing oversight.
  

By uniting visibility, automation, and analytics, the Splunk OT Security Solution Accelerator helps teams simplify security, strengthen defenses, and protect every layer of the OT environment from perimeter to edge.

Industrial OT Cybersecurity Best Practices for 2025

As cyberattacks evolve, industrial OT cybersecurity best practices must align with emerging technologies and compliance standards:

• Adopt Zero Trust: Limit access to verified users and devices.
  
• Monitor Continuously: Use analytics to spot and stop anomalies early.
  
• Automate Patching: Address known vulnerabilities quickly.
  
• Streamline Incident Response: Use platforms like Splunk SOAR for faster recovery.
  
• Track Every Asset: Maintain full visibility across all connected devices.
  

These practices strengthen resilience, reduce downtime, and ensure compliance with evolving standards.

What’s the Best Way to Collect and Manage OT Data Securely?

Implementing OT data collection best practices starts with understanding data flows and establishing governance from the edge to the cloud. Secure OT data collection and management methods include:

• Encrypted telemetry channels for safe data transmission.
  
• Role-based access control (RBAC) to prevent unauthorized data handling.
  
• Data normalization and enrichment within Splunk for unified visibility.
  
• Integration with SIEM and SOAR tools for automated alerting and triage.
  

This ensures both data integrity and operational efficiency.

How Is Edge AI Transforming OT Security and Monitoring?

The rise of Edge AI for OT security is changing how threats are detected and contained. By deploying machine learning models closer to OT endpoints, organizations gain:

• Instant anomaly detection with minimal latency
  
• Lower network load through local data processing
  
• Adaptive defenses that evolve with real-world behaviors
  

Splunk’s AI-driven analytics extend to the edge, creating decentralized intelligence that strengthens both system performance and operational resilience. This evolution naturally supports the next phase of security maturity: OT and IT security convergence.

How Do IT and OT Security Teams Converge for Unified Protection?

As edge intelligence expands visibility, IT-OT security convergence becomes essential. Splunk bridges this gap through a shared analytics platform that correlates data across both domains.

Unified visibility enables:

• Coordinated incident response
  
• Shared threat intelligence
  
• Consistent policy enforcement
  

This convergence reduces silos, strengthens collaboration, and builds a cohesive defense strategy against modern multi-vector attacks.

Building Resilient OT Security with Splunk and bitsIO

Effective OT security depends on visibility, speed, and trust. With Splunk’s real-time analytics, automation, and machine learning, organizations can detect and contain threats before they disrupt operations. The combination of edge AI, unified IT-OT analytics, and continuous monitoring builds a resilient security framework that strengthens uptime and compliance.

At bitsIO, we help organizations get the most from their Splunk investments through expert deployment, optimization, and continuous support. Our approach improves visibility, accelerates response times, and strengthens overall security across both IT and OT environments.

Together, Splunk and bitsIO enable secure, intelligent, and future-ready OT environments built to withstand evolving cyber threats.

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