PLCs, ICS, and OT Security
Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) are the backbone of modern industrial operations — from water treatment plants and electrical grids to natural gas pipelines and manufacturing floors. As operational technology (OT) converges with information technology (IT), these once-isolated systems are increasingly networked, exposing them to the same adversaries that target enterprise computing environments.
Attackers who compromise a PLC do not steal data — they change physics. They alter pump pressures, open valves, disable safety interlocks, and cause equipment to fail in ways that endanger communities and critical infrastructure.
Why PLCs Are at Risk
Unlike enterprise servers, PLC environments were not designed with security in mind. Legacy protocols such as Modbus, DNP3, and PROFINET lack authentication. Patch cycles are measured in years, not weeks. Vendors often prohibit third-party endpoint agents — making Thor™’s kernel-level, low-footprint approach ideal for constrained OT environments.
Who Relies on PLCs
- Municipal water treatment and distribution systems
- Electric utility generation, transmission, and distribution
- Natural gas processing and pipeline control
- Wastewater management facilities
- Manufacturing and process automation
Thor™ for OT Environments
Thor™ by Aronetics® operates beneath the application layer, requiring no changes to existing PLC logic or SCADA configurations. It is architecture-aware, supporting both x86 and ARM compute platforms commonly found in industrial edge devices and gateways that bridge control networks to the enterprise. Thor™ detects anomalous behavior, unauthorized firmware modifications, and insider activity before they reach the controller.
Red Hat certified and export controlled under the U.S. Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security, Thor™ is trusted where failure is not an option.
Contact Aronetics to discuss how Thor™ can be deployed within your operational technology environment.