Attacks on operational technology (OT) and industrial control systems (ICS) have escalated from a niche concern to a top-tier national security priority. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) documented a significant increase in ICS-targeted cyber incidents in 2023, and the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack—which disrupted fuel supply across the U.S. East Coast—demonstrated the real-world consequences of inadequate OT security. According to Dragos, the leading OT threat intelligence firm, the number of ransomware attacks on industrial organizations increased 87 percent year-over-year in 2023.
For the companies specializing in securing these environments, business has never been more demanding. OT/ICS security firms operate at the intersection of specialized engineering knowledge, regulatory compliance requirements, and the operational realities of environments where taking a system offline for a security assessment can halt production or disrupt critical services.
The Operational Complexity of OT/ICS Security Work
OT/ICS engagements differ substantially from traditional IT security consulting. Assessments must be coordinated with plant operators, production schedulers, and engineering teams who have zero tolerance for disruptions. Compliance frameworks such as NERC CIP for the energy sector, ISA/IEC 62443 for industrial automation, and NIST SP 800-82 for industrial systems add documentation and evidence requirements that generate significant administrative workload.
Engagement lifecycles are often longer and more stakeholder-intensive than IT security projects. Asset inventory documentation, network architecture diagrams, zone-and-conduit analyses, compensating control justifications, and remediation roadmaps must all be produced, reviewed, and delivered to clients operating in regulated environments with specific record-keeping requirements.
Where Virtual Assistants Reduce Friction
Engagement coordination and stakeholder management. OT/ICS assessments require scheduling coordination with plant operations, IT security, compliance, and executive stakeholders who rarely occupy the same room. VAs manage this multi-party coordination, distribute pre-assessment questionnaires, collect preliminary documentation from client teams, and maintain communication cadences throughout the engagement.
Compliance documentation support. NERC CIP and IEC 62443 compliance engagements generate substantial documentation requirements. VAs maintain document registers, track evidence submission deadlines, format compliance evidence packages, and manage the version control of policy and procedure documents based on inputs from security engineers.
Report production and formatting. OT security assessment reports must be precise and professional, with clear risk ratings, technical findings, and actionable remediation guidance. VAs handle the production layer—applying templates, formatting technical content provided by engineers, generating executive summaries, and coordinating the review and approval process before client delivery.
Training and workshop logistics. Many OT/ICS security firms deliver training programs for plant operations and engineering staff alongside technical assessments. VAs coordinate session scheduling, participant registration, materials preparation, and post-training completion tracking across client sites.
The Talent Scarcity Problem in OT Security
OT/ICS security practitioners are among the rarest professionals in cybersecurity. They require knowledge of industrial protocols (Modbus, DNP3, PROFIBUS), engineering system architectures, safety system interactions, and cybersecurity methodology—a combination that takes years to develop. According to a 2023 survey by the SANS ICS team, only 28 percent of organizations feel they have adequate OT security staffing.
This scarcity makes the opportunity cost of pulling OT engineers into administrative work exceptionally high. A firm with three qualified OT security engineers running four concurrent engagements cannot afford to have those engineers spending 20 percent of their time on coordination and documentation.
OT/ICS security companies looking for operational support that does not require ICS expertise can explore Stealth Agents, which provides virtual assistants experienced in professional services environments where technical sensitivity and operational precision are requirements.
The regulatory and threat landscape for OT/ICS security will continue to intensify. Firms that build lean, efficient operating models now will have the capacity to serve the growing demand without compromising the technical quality that makes them valuable.
Sources
- Dragos, "Year in Review: OT Cybersecurity Report 2023," dragos.com
- CISA, "ICS Advisory Program and Incident Response Overview 2023," cisa.gov
- SANS Institute, "ICS/OT Security Survey 2023," sans.org