Tenable OT Discovery Engine Finds Cyber-Physical Risks
▼ Summary
– Tenable released a new OT asset discovery engine that integrates into its existing platform, providing a unified view of cyber exposure across IT, OT, and IoT systems without requiring new hardware or agents.
– The solution addresses a critical blind spot, as Gartner predicts cyber-physical attacks will double in three years and 45% of modern OT compromises originate in IT environments.
– Early access customers from various industries discovered between 100 to over 1000 previously unknown OT/IoT assets, some with critical vulnerabilities, upon initial deployment.
– Key customer benefits include accelerating compliance through instant deployment, eliminating operational blind spots with immediate asset visibility, and breaking down security silos within a single platform.
– The new discovery capability is available to all Tenable One, Tenable Vulnerability Management, and Tenable Security Center customers, with Tenable OT Security offered for more complex environments.
A new engine for discovering operational technology assets has been launched by Tenable, providing security teams with a unified view of cyber exposure that now includes risks from cyber-physical systems. This integrated approach covers operational technology, Internet of Things devices, and shadow IT, offering a streamlined path to comprehensive visibility. The VM-Native OT Discovery capability is designed for instant deployment, requiring no extra IT overhead, which allows organizations to quickly map their entire IT/OT landscape and enhance their AI-driven exposure management programs.
Industry analysis underscores the urgency of this capability. Gartner predicts that cyber and cyber-physical attacks will double within the next three years, making cohesive visibility across both digital and physical assets an operational necessity. Protecting these systems, especially within critical infrastructure, has traditionally been hampered by complex deployments involving specialized hardware and software. Tenable eliminates that friction by embedding OT discovery directly into its core risk-based vulnerability management solutions within the Tenable One platform, removing the need for additional hardware or agents.
The attack surface represented by cyber-physical assets is expanding rapidly and unpredictably, extending from industrial settings to modern offices, data centers, and building management systems. This convergence creates significant risk, with more than half of CISOs now bearing responsibility for OT security. A dangerous security blind spot often exists where IT networks intersect with these physical systems, and concerns over operational disruption have historically slowed security initiatives. This gap has consequences, as data shows 45% of contemporary OT compromises actually originate within IT environments.
Early access customers from sectors including finance, hospitality, education, and government have already validated the engine’s impact. Initial deployments routinely uncovered between 100 and over 1,000 previously unknown OT and IoT assets, some of which contained critical vulnerabilities.
The integrated discovery engine delivers several key advantages. It accelerates OT security compliance by enabling instant deployment without new sensors or point solutions, helping organizations meet evolving regulatory demands. It works to eliminate operational blind spots by providing immediate visibility into hidden assets, detailing vendor, model, firmware, and operational status without disrupting processes. Furthermore, it breaks down security silos by unifying asset and exposure data within the Tenable One platform, giving teams a complete picture of risk across AI, IT, cloud, identity, and OT domains.
“Cyber-physical risk can’t remain a blind spot in exposure management,” stated Eric Doerr, Chief Product Officer at Tenable. “We’re giving organizations an immediate, low-friction way to bring OT into scope, so they can gain visibility, meet compliance requirements and start reducing risk from day one, without adding new infrastructure.” For customers with more complex needs, Tenable also offers its comprehensive Tenable OT Security solution for proactive risk reduction in converged environments.
This new OT Discovery engine is now available to all users of Tenable One, Tenable Vulnerability Management, and Tenable Security Center. The broader Tenable One Exposure Management Platform provides complete data interoperability, allowing customers to deploy a tailored combination of tools, including the dedicated OT Security solution for continuous monitoring and threat detection of cyber-physical systems.
(Source: Help Net Security)