ICS and OT Penetration Testing Services

Home > Services > Offensive Cyber Security > ICS and OT Penetration Testing Services

Protecting Operational Technology From Real-World Threats

Industrial Control Systems and Operational Technology operate physical processes where availability, integrity and safety constraints can limit conventional testing methods. NSI Global assesses approved components, network paths, protocols, remote-access mechanisms and segmentation controls without assuming that active testing is appropriate for live systems.

Engagements are scoped with asset owners and operational personnel. Testing may include architecture and configuration review, passive discovery, controlled validation in a laboratory or staging environment and carefully authorised active testing with defined safety constraints and stop conditions.

Scope can cover PLCs, HMIs, SCADA systems, engineering workstations, field devices, industrial protocols, remote-access pathways and IT/OT boundaries.

Learn More About NSI Global's Offensive Cyber Security Methodology

Core Deliverables

OT-Specific Attack Simulation

Assess how adversaries could exploit PLCs, HMIs, SCADA systems, and field devices in your environment.

Safety-Constrained ICS and OT Testing

Apply passive, laboratory, staging or client-approved active techniques according to operational risk, safety requirements and defined stop conditions.

Segmentation & Network Flaw Discovery

Assess industrial-protocol configuration, network segmentation and remote-access pathways for weaknesses within the approved scope.

Risk-Ranked Remediation Plan

Receive findings prioritised according to asset criticality, safety implications, process dependencies, exploitability and operational impact.

What the Assessment Addresses

  • Asset visibility and unauthorised or unmanaged connections
  • Unsupported components and operational patching constraints
  • Network segmentation and exposed remote-access pathways
  • Protocol configuration and device-management weaknesses
  • Detection, response and recovery controls for OT environments
  • Safety and operational impacts of proposed remediation

Frequently Asked Questions

Will testing stop our plant?

No. We do not assume active testing suits a live system. Scope, operating windows, permitted techniques and stop conditions are agreed with asset owners and operational personnel before any work begins. Where the risk is unacceptable, assessment is passive or conducted against a lab replica.

Can you test safety instrumented systems?

Safety systems are assessed, not exercised. We review segmentation, access paths and configuration without interacting with the safety function itself. Anything that would require active testing of an SIS is scoped as a documentation and architecture review.

Do you test live systems or a replica?

Both are possible, and the choice is made with your operations team. Live testing is limited to components and paths you approve, usually during a planned window. Where availability or safety constraints rule that out, we work from a lab replica or passive network observation.

Scope an ICS and OT Assessment

Contact NSI Global to define the systems in scope, operating windows, approved techniques, safety constraints, evidence requirements and stop conditions.

What this engagement does not cover.

Testing is bounded by the scope agreed in writing. We do not test systems outside that scope, and no assessment establishes that an environment is free of vulnerabilities — only that the agreed scope was examined using the agreed techniques within the agreed window. Every report states what was tested, what was not, and what the evidence does and does not support.

1300 000 NSI (674)

Speak with NSI Global