“Auditors ask about patching, and we can't show what we decided or why.”
In OT, compliance means showing that relevant advisories were reviewed and a sound decision was made, not that every patch was installed immediately.
Advisories affecting industrial products arrive constantly.
Patching often needs vendor approval and an outage.
Requirements such as NERC CIP-007 expect documented assessments.
Effort should go to applicable, exposed and critical assets.
A sequence that can be adapted to your environment and scope.
Review vendor and CERT advisories for your products.
Check affected versions against your inventory.
Patch, mitigate or accept, with rationale.
Plan patches into maintenance windows.
Show status and residual exposure.
A controller advisory affects firmware used at two sites. One site is not exposed because the vulnerable service is disabled; the other blocks the port at the zone firewall until the firmware is updated at the next planned stop.
It depends on the framework. Many expect timely assessment and a documented plan or mitigation rather than immediate installation.
From the blog
Regulation7 min
National NIS2 laws are now being enforced. Here is what energy, water, transport and manufacturing operators should be able to show for their OT environments.
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Regulation6 min
Manufacturers must now report actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe incidents. Asset owners should expect more advisories, and suppliers need a working process.
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Architecture8 min
Segmentation diagrams often look perfect and behave very differently. A practical method for zones and conduits that match how your site really works.
Read the articleDescribe where you are today and we'll suggest a practical way forward.