Secure the Industrial Internet of Things With Hybrid IT

By: Core BTS | January 29, 2025

Discover how hybrid IT strategies bridge legacy systems and new technologies to close security gaps and keep manufacturing operations safe.

Key Takeaways:

IIoT improves manufacturing but brings unique security challenges.
Hybrid IT enhances security, resilience, compliance, and data privacy.
Evaluate infrastructure, address vulnerabilities, and implement multilayered security.
Continuously monitor systems to detect and respond to threats proactively.

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has become ubiquitous in modern manufacturing. Every forward-thinking manufacturer leverages it to connect everything in their ecosystem, from the supply chain to the production floor and beyond. And not without reason—IIoT enhances operational and cost efficiency, data analysis, decision-making, and business agility.

Yet, with more connectivity comes more risks. Every device connected to the network is a potential backdoor for hackers. Therefore, manufacturers must establish solid security management strategies to navigate the IIoT age effectively. Data breaches cause serious harm— downtime, slow production, lawsuits, fines, reputational loss, and even closure—and must be avoided at all costs.

How can manufacturers ensure airtight cybersecurity when mission-critical functions run on legacy systems? 

One solution is to lean on hybrid IT. By integrating old and new systems, hybrid IT facilitates the use advanced technologies to close security gaps, streamline operations, and adapt to changing demands. 

Read on to discover how a hybrid infrastructure fortifies IIoT security and practical strategies for staying ahead of the digital curve. 

Addressing Legacy System Vulnerabilities

As you can imagine, aging systems are highly vulnerable to threats. Not only do they use outdated encryption techniques and authentication protocols, but they are typically designed as standalone solutions, limiting the visibility into the IIoT network. 

Because vendors don’t provide patches and updates past the end of life, appropriate features may be lacking to fend off modern cyberattacks. Securing these systems becomes even more challenging as technical debt accumulates over time from incremental fixes. 

Combine these factors, and you have a very lucrative target for malware authors, hackers, and other criminal groups. 

A few approaches can address legacy system vulnerabilities. One strategy is connecting legacy systems to newer IIoT devices through secure gateways so data flows safely through the network. Another is integrating cloud-based monitoring solutions with on-premise systems to provide real-time insights into the IIoT network to identify unpatched devices and potential entry points hackers could exploit. Once vulnerabilities are mapped out, they can be isolated from the IIoT network and patched virtually while ensuring operations remain uninterrupted.

Benefits of a Secure Hybrid IT Infrastructure

A robust hybrid IT infrastructure offers multiple advantages for manufacturers looking to maximize IIoT investments:

Enhanced Security Across Platforms

In IIoT environments, data flows through countless devices, platforms, and endpoints. Hybrid IT provides a unified framework to monitor this movement and ensure every asset—whether on the factory floor or in the cloud—stays protected 24/7. 

Operational Resilience No Matter What Comes Your Way

Downtime is extremely costly in the manufacturing industry. A ransomware attack that halts production can cost millions in lost revenue and damage customer relationships. 

A hybrid IT infrastructure minimizes downtime by providing redundancy, failover capabilities, and rapid restoration of critical systems. With critical data distributed across cloud and on-premise environments, you never have to worry about losing it due to a breach or system failure. Similarly, you’re confident if threat actors cripple an on-prem server, the cloud-based ones can take over to ensure operations run uninterrupted.

Compliance and Data Privacy

With increasing regulatory scrutiny in manufacturing, compliance is a top priority. Hybrid IT allows you to leverage advanced tools that automate data tracking, management, and reporting across IT and OT environments. Whether subject to GDPR, CCPA, or other regulations, these tools can simplify compliance management and prevent violations.

Key Steps for Building a Secure, Resilient IT Model

Take these steps to create a secure and future-proof infrastructure:

Assess Security Gaps

Start with a comprehensive audit of your existing infrastructure to identify security gaps that must be filled. Which software is unpatched? Which endpoints are unsecured? Are there any poorly configured networks? Pay special attention to areas where legacy systems intersect with IIoT devices, which are often the most vulnerable.

The risk assessment should also evaluate current response capabilities. Are systems equipped to detect and mitigate threats in real time? Is there a disaster recovery plan in place? How effective is it?

Implement Layered Security

A single security solution is rarely enough to protect IIoT environments. Layered security uses multiple defenses to ensure no threat slips through the cracks. 

A potential approach is securing devices at the network’s edge, granting them access only to necessary systems, and segmenting them from the rest. Firewalls can manage data flow between network segments with access controls applied at the connectivity layer. End-to-end encryption can then ensure that only authorized users access information.

This layered approach would limit the damage hackers can inflict. For example, stolen data would be useless without a decryption key. Even if they somehow managed to get their hands on it, they would still be unable to move laterally across your network.

Continuously Monitor The IIoT Environment

Tapping artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to monitor your environment in real time, deliver timely security updates and patches, flag anomalies indicative of potential attacks, and thwart them before they take off.

Partner with CoreBTS for Secure IIoT Solutions

While IIoT has redefined what’s possible in manufacturing, it demands a new approach to security. Hybrid IT can integrate legacy systems and modern technologies into a unified, secure infrastructure ready to navigate the complexities of smart factories.

CoreBTS helps leading manufacturers design and implement scalable, secure hybrid IT solutions tailored to unique business needs. You, too, can leverage our expertise to streamline operations, enhance resilience, and ensure compliance in an ever-evolving threat landscape. 

Get in touch now for more information.

Core BTS is a digital transformation consultancy that helps organizations simplify technical complexity, accelerate transformation, and drive business outcomes.

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