Strengthening OT Cybersecurity and Data Center Migration for a Large City Municipality

Our solutions and services are geared around Automation, Cybersecurity, and Enterprise IT/ OT Integration.

Background & Context: The client, a prominent city municipality, is responsible for a vast array of operations, including sewage treatment plants, irrigation facilities, and other municipal functions. With the scale of their operations and recent significant infrastructure upgrades, they faced challenges in maintaining robust cybersecurity and centralizing their management.

Objective: Centralize the data center operations and enhance OT Cybersecurity controls to ensure resilience, protection, and compliance, all while ensuring uninterrupted system availability during the upgrades.

Challenges Faced:

Data Center Migration: The intricate task of relocating servers to a centralized data center, which includes the physical movement of hardware, network reconfiguration, and seamless integration with other systems.
Limited OT Cybersecurity Controls: The pre-existing servers were equipped with inadequate security controls, exposing them to a myriad of cyber threats.
Business Requirement Compliance: The need to ensure that the SCADA server migration doesn’t hamper daily operations and aligns with the organization’s performance and availability standards.
Upholding Security Standards: The imperative of not just migrating the servers but also fortifying them with top-notch security measures in the new environment.

Solutions Deployed:

Enhanced Security Controls:
- Introduced robust security measures including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and access controls.
- Consistently updated software and firmware to tackle vulnerabilities.
Business Continuity Strategy:
- Formulated a comprehensive continuity and disaster recovery plan, inclusive of backup and failover strategies.
Alignment with Business Requirements:
- Undertook a detailed assessment of the organization’s operational needs.
- Strategically scheduled migrations during off-peak hours.
Adherence to Security Protocols:
- Embraced industry-specific standards such as NIST, ISO 27001, and IEC 62443.
- Conducted periodic security audits.
Data Center Migration Blueprint:
- Crafted a meticulous migration plan, complemented by testing and validation phases.
- Collaborated with seasoned data center migration experts.
Employee Training & Awareness:
- Educated the IT and SCADA teams on the revamped security infrastructure.
- Promoted a culture emphasizing cybersecurity awareness.
Ongoing Monitoring & Maintenance:
- Established continuous monitoring protocols.
- Periodically reviewed and updated security policies.
Collaboration with Vendors & Third Parties:
- Fostered relationships for sustained support during the SCADA infrastructure transition.

Delivery Approach: The project was executed through a structured methodology, starting from project initiation, where the scope and objectives were defined, moving through assessment, planning, security enhancement, business continuity management, compliance alignment, and culminating in the actual data center migration. Post-migration, emphasis was placed on training, continuous monitoring, vendor collaboration, and documentation. The project concluded with a post-implementation review and a commitment to ongoing monitoring and optimization.

Our solutions and services are geared around Automation, Cybersecurity, and Enterprise IT/ OT Integration.