For decades, the office environment had been on an Ethernet network, the factory floor had operated independently on fieldbus, and each were happily separate in their operations and needed little contact with one another. Now, with the proliferation of Ethernet on the industrial side and the organization converging into a single data network spanning both information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT), the conflict seems inevitable—which department gets oversight and control of the Ethernet network?

I recently had the pleasure of addressing the Industrial Control Systems Joint Working Group (ICSJWG) within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. They invited us to discuss the importance of monitoring industrial networks for comprehensive visibility, as well as present some views on how best to do so. I think that many OT professionals outside of that room—or anyone concerned with industrial cyber security—would also find some value in the topic, so I’d like to offer up a bit of the flavor of that discussion.

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To help provide a flavor of the insights and experience that Tripwire makes available, we’re conducting one-on-one interviews with several Tripwire in-house experts. You may have seen some of their bylines in Belden’s industrial blog over the past couple of years, but in this new series we want to provide a more direct glimpse into each expert’s individual industry purview. Each of them will discuss their own personal views on the current state of cyber security in the industrial environment. You’ll learn more about how they have been working with Belden industrial customers to help bolster their network security and optimize their uptime in today’s challenging environment.