Glossary

Operational Technology (OT)

What Is Operational Technology (OT)?

Operational Technology (OT) is the hardware and software that monitors and controls physical processes, devices, and infrastructure — distinct from traditional IT — encompassing ICS, building management systems, transportation systems, and other systems where software interacts directly with the physical world.

OT systems traditionally prioritized availability and safety over confidentiality, with limited consideration for cybersecurity. As IT and OT converge, the security expectations applied to IT increasingly extend to OT — but OT software often runs on older platforms, in firmware form, with limited ability to be inspected or patched conventionally. Binary composition analysis is one of the few practical paths to visibility in OT environments.

Software Asset TypesContainer ImageA container image is a portable, self-contained package bundling an application with its dependencies, libraries, and configuration — the standard deployment unit.Read definition
Software Asset TypesKernelA kernel is the core OS component that manages hardware resources, schedules processes, and mediates memory — the lowest-level software that always runs.Read definition
Software Asset TypesFirmwareFirmware is the low-level software embedded in hardware devices that manages hardware functionality and operates beneath the operating system.Read definition

Operational Technology (OT)

What Is Operational Technology (OT)?

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