Industrial cybersecurity platform improves risk visibility across water utility sites
Rockwell Automation's SecureOT Platform enables rapid vulnerability assessment and prioritized remediation across six facilities.
www.rockwellautomation.com
A large U.S. water utility operating six geographically dispersed facilities needed to assess cybersecurity risks across its industrial control systems. The objective was to maintain regulatory compliance while protecting essential services delivered to millions of people.
The organization faced a tight timeline and limited visibility into its IT and OT environments. Existing assessment methods were largely manual, making it difficult to identify vulnerabilities across multiple network layers and segmented systems within the required timeframe.
In addition, leadership required a clear and structured overview of risks to present to the board, increasing the need for accurate, actionable insights.
Deploying a unified OT cybersecurity platform
To address these challenges, the utility implemented the SecureOT Platform from Rockwell Automation, combined with industrial cybersecurity services.
The platform was deployed within the organization’s demilitarized zone (DMZ), enabling secure access to both IT and OT environments. Its hybrid agent and agentless architecture allowed seamless connectivity across all sites and network segments.
Comprehensive asset visibility and risk analysis
The platform created a complete inventory of connected assets, including programmable logic controllers (PLCs), network infrastructure and downstream devices. It also collected detailed operational and security data such as:
- Software versions and patch status
- Known vulnerabilities
- User accounts and access points
- Open ports and active services
- System configurations
To prioritize risks, cybersecurity specialists combined platform-generated insights with process hazard analysis. This enabled vulnerabilities to be ranked based on operational criticality and potential impact.
Delivering a structured remediation roadmap
Based on the risk analysis, the utility received a prioritized remediation roadmap integrated directly into the platform. This allowed teams to take immediate corrective actions while maintaining a clear overview of progress.
The structured approach ensured that the most critical vulnerabilities were addressed first, improving overall system resilience.
Faster assessment with broader coverage
The project delivered measurable efficiency gains:
- Full assessment of six sites completed in less than one month
- Cost comparable to a single-site manual assessment
- Expanded visibility across both IT and OT environments
By automating data collection and analysis, the utility significantly reduced the time and resources required for the assessment.
Continuous monitoring and long-term resilience
Beyond the initial assessment, the platform provides ongoing visibility into assets and vulnerabilities. The utility can now monitor risks in real time, track remediation progress and maintain compliance over the long term.
The ability to generate detailed reports also supports communication with executive leadership, ensuring transparency and accountability in cybersecurity management.
Strengthening cybersecurity in critical infrastructure
This deployment demonstrates how digital platforms can transform industrial cybersecurity from a periodic assessment process into a continuous, data-driven practice.
By combining automated asset discovery, risk prioritization and real-time monitoring, the utility established a scalable approach to managing cybersecurity risks across complex, distributed infrastructure.
Edited by Romila DSilva, Induportals Editor, with AI assistance.
www.rockwellautomation.com
