Information technology (IT) managers tend to think in terms of systems, particularly when it comes to security. Their focus is often on boundaries and vulnerabilities: how a bad actor might breach defences, which systems are exposed, and where weaknesses may lie.
By contrast, operational technology (OT) professionals think in terms of machines. Their priorities centre on maintaining uptime for stamping presses, ensuring reliable data collection from cutting inserts, and keeping physical processes running safely and efficiently.
This difference in perspective shapes how cybersecurity is received in OT environments. OT professionals do not dismiss cybersecurity, but many are weary of having it framed in ways that do not reflect how their world operates. They understand risk – they live with it every day. Safety concerns, equipment failure, unplanned downtime, supply disruption, and regulatory scrutiny; these are not abstract concepts in OT environments.
They are practical realities with real consequences. So, when cybersecurity is presented as something entirely separate, something that needs its own language and logic, it immediately feels disconnected.
That disconnect is where most progress stalls.
Read the full article in DPA's March 2026 issue