Manufacturing plants were built to run. For decades, operational technology - PLCs, SCADA systems, distributed control networks - ran in isolation, and that isolation was security enough. It no longer is. As factories connect to enterprise IT, cloud dashboards, and remote access portals, the perimeter dissolves. The same network paths that enable real-time production data also open routes into safety-critical systems.

The problem with most IT security audits in manufacturing environments is that they stop at the enterprise perimeter. The OT layer - the systems that actually control production - operates under different constraints, uses different protocols, and carries different consequences when something goes wrong. A misconfigured firewall rule in an office network is an inconvenience. The same mistake on a production network can halt a line or trigger a safety event.

Gradion has worked on the shop floor. Senior Aerospace Thailand embedded our team at their Chonburi factory for four days - mapping workflows, understanding how the production systems actually ran, and building solutions that worked within manufacturing constraints, not around them. That ground-level understanding of how factories operate is what separates security work that holds in production from work that looks right in a diagram.

What we offer

Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Safety Check:
our structured entry-point for organisations that need a cross-domain view across both IT and OT before committing to a larger programme. Approximately three weeks, 6–7 consulting days, including on-site assessment for OT where required. We simulate real-world threat scenarios, assess network segmentation, remote access risks, legacy system exposure, and IT/OT integration points. Output: Security & Infrastructure Assessment Report, Executive Risk Scorecard (red/yellow/green by domain), prioritised Remediation Action Plan, and Leadership Alignment Session. This is where most engagements start.

IT/OT convergence risk analysis:
the highest-risk moment in any industrial environment is when IT and OT networks are bridged without a deliberate security model. ERP integrations, remote monitoring tools, vendor VPN access, cloud-connected sensors - each is a potential path between networks that were designed to be separate. We map these integration points, identify the lateral movement risks, and produce a prioritised list of gaps.

IEC 62443 gap assessment:
IEC 62443 is the international standard for industrial automation and control system security. We assess your environment against the standard, identify where the gaps are, and help you understand what a compliance roadmap looks like in practice. This is advisory and assessment work - we will tell you honestly what is required and what it would take to get there.

OT environment context

We work with manufacturers across DACH and Asia-Pacific. A leading industrial safety technology group with 50,000+ safety systems installed worldwide, engaged Gradion on their digital transformation programme. Senior Aerospace Thailand, a precision manufacturer supplying aerospace and defence OEMs, achieved a 400% boost in operational efficiency through our factory-floor engagement. Neither project was primarily a cybersecurity engagement - but both required understanding how operational systems function under real production conditions, which is the same understanding that makes security work in these environments credible.

Beyond manufacturing, the same cross-domain approach applies to logistics and industrial supply chains. A global cargo carrier engaged Gradion for a full penetration test across its order management and shipment infrastructure. Critical vulnerabilities were identified and patched - entry points that, if exploited, would have enabled fake order injection, ransomware deployment, and shipment rerouting. A UK industrial workbench manufacturer brought Gradion in following a security incident; incident response and penetration testing ran in parallel, with no data loss and full hardening completed before the engagement closed.

Tell us what the environment looks like and what you need to be confident about. We will scope the assessment and tell you where the Safety Check is the right starting point.