Principles of operational technology cyber security

Summary

The Australian agency’s guide, written with the cybersecurity agencies of several allied countries, including the United States (CISA, NSA, FBI), the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Japan, gives critical infrastructure decision makers six principles to judge whether a decision could weaken the security of the OT environment: safety is paramount; deep knowledge of the business and its critical systems is crucial; OT data is extremely valuable and must be protected; OT must be segmented and segregated from all other networks; the supply chain must be secure; and people are essential for OT cyber security. Each principle comes with practical examples of decisions, such as introducing remote access or new cloud services.

Information

Jurisdiction

Australia

Issuing body

Australian Signals Directorate – Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD’s ACSC)

Type

Guideline / framework / standard

Available languages

English

Topics

• OT and cyber-physical systems (ICS/SCADA)
• Critical infrastructure
• Supply chain

Notes

Joint guidance also co-sealed by agencies of other allied countries.

Australian Signals Directorate – Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD’s ACSC). (2024). Principles of operational technology cyber security. https://www.cyber.gov.au/business-government/secure-design/operational-technology-environments/principles-of-operational-technology-cyber-security

Australian Signals Directorate – Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD’s ACSC). "Principles of operational technology cyber security." 2 October 2024. https://www.cyber.gov.au/business-government/secure-design/operational-technology-environments/principles-of-operational-technology-cyber-security.

@misc{au_asd_principles_operational_technology_cyber_security_2024,
  author       = {{Australian Signals Directorate – Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD’s ACSC)}},
  title        = {{Principles of operational technology cyber security}},
  year         = {2024},
  url          = {https://www.cyber.gov.au/business-government/secure-design/operational-technology-environments/principles-of-operational-technology-cyber-security},
  urldate      = {2026-10-28}
}