Beyond the Air Gap: How IT/OT Convergence Changes the Attack Surface
Operational Technology networks are often discussed as if they are completely isolated. In reality, remote maintenance, vendor access, business systems and centralised monitoring have created more connections between IT and OT.
This talk explains how that convergence changes the attack surface and why familiar networking weaknesses have different consequences when the network controls a physical process.
I will walk through a simple attack path from remote access into an OT environment, introducing concepts such as segmentation, trust boundaries, HMIs, PLCs and RTUs along the way. I will also briefly reference real incidents affecting European energy infrastructure to show how network access can move towards operational disruption.
This is an introduction to modern OT networking, focused on one question: how can an ordinary network weakness become a physical problem?
When I first came across OT security, the air gap sounded straightforward: keep industrial systems separate from the internet and attackers cannot reach them.
But modern OT environments cannot always operate that way.
Engineers need remote access. Vendors need to maintain equipment. Operational data needs to reach monitoring and business systems. Each connection may have a legitimate purpose, but it can also create another path across the boundary between IT and OT.
This talk follows one simple path:
Remote access → IT/OT boundary → operator system → industrial device → physical process**
Along the way, I will explain what each component does, why the connection exists and how familiar security issues—such as weak credentials, excessive trust and poor segmentation—change when the destination controls something physical.
The talk will reference publicly reported attacks against energy infrastructure in Europe to demonstrate how attackers can move through connected environments and how a networking compromise can contribute to operational disruption.
This session is open to anyone interested in networking or critical infrastructure.
Attendees will leave understanding:
- What an air gap means in a modern OT environment
- Why IT and OT are becoming increasingly connected
- How remote access can create a path towards industrial systems
- Why a network compromise can have physical consequences
I am a Resilience Analyst at National Grid Ventures, with a background in Computer Science and a strong interest in Operational Technology security. My experience in the energy sector has developed my interest in how cyber incidents can create real-world physical consequences. I have also competed in the Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge and Cyber Leaders Challenge, working through simulated crisis scenarios affecting the UK. I am particularly interested in the intersection of cyber resilience, operational technology and the systems that keep society running.