What the session covers
- IoT vs OT devices: what is actually different, and why treating them the same creates blind spots
- Why SIM and 5G connectivity outperform fixed infrastructure in OT environments
- How securing OT and IoT differs from securing IT, from patching to endpoint assumptions
- What Zero Trust means for devices that cannot run an agent
- A brief look at the IXT solution, how it works, and how it is secured
- Illumio's role: real-time traffic visibility and policy-based segmentation across every device
- Where this is deployed today, across which types of environments, and how to acquire it
- The AI threat: how AI is changing attacks on OT and IoT, and what defenders need to do differently
What IT security misses in OT and IoT environments.
Where OT and IoT security actually differs from IT
IoT devices connect appliances, sensors, and consumer hardware to the internet. OT devices run the physical processes behind manufacturing lines, energy grids, and critical infrastructure. The two get lumped together in most security conversations. They should not be.
OT environments cannot tolerate downtime the way IT environments can. A patch window that is routine for a laptop fleet can halt a production line. Most OT and IoT devices also cannot run agent software, so the endpoint security model IT teams rely on does not apply.
Connectivity is part of the same problem. Fixed infrastructure like Wi-Fi or wired networks is not always available, or safe to depend on, in industrial and remote environments. SIM and 5G connectivity give OT devices a consistent, carrier-grade path that does not depend on site infrastructure the operator does not control.
Henning Solberg, Founder and CTO at IXT, and Trevor Dearing, Director of Critical Infrastructure Solutions at Illumio, walk through what actually separates OT and IoT security from IT, and why connectivity is part of the security conversation, not separate from it.