OT (Operational Technology)

Operational Technology is the hardware and software that monitors and controls physical processes, industrial control systems, SCADA, building management, energy infrastructure. OT systems traditionally ran on isolated networks with proprietary protocols; convergence with IT exposes them to cyber threats and motivates standards such as IEC 62443 for ICS security.

Categories: Radio Access NetworkThreats and AttacksProtocols and Standards

OT in context

The radio access network is where mobile devices attach to the operator's infrastructure. Attacks in this layer include IMSI catching, rogue base stations and downgrade attacks; defenses rest on mutual authentication, integrity-protected signaling and Open RAN supply-chain hygiene.

Telecom threats range from opportunistic SMS phishing and SIM swap to nation-state grade location tracking. The common thread is that most attacks exploit the inherited trust model of legacy signaling protocols.

To place OT in the wider telecom-security picture, review ETSI, Incident Response, Modulation, RTSP, Telnet and X1 — each entry cross-references back to this page so you can walk the topic in either direction.

Related terms

More from the TelcoSec Glossary

Browse the full TelcoSec Glossary, the Ultimate Guide to Mobile Network Security, or the P1 Arsenal of telecom-security tools.