CASE
STUDY
OT ASSET NETWORK SEGREGATION & MIGRATION
FOOD & BEVERAGE MANIFACTURING
Summary
A large food & beverage manufacturing operation with diverse automation assets (PLCs, HMIs, drives, OEM skids, refrigeration systems, packaging automation). The environment relied on legacy, flat, mixed IT/OT networks that introduced operational, cyber, and food safety risks
Business Issue
Critical OT assets resided in IT-managed network zones with:
- → Insufficient segmentation
- → Lateral movement
- → Increasing likelihood of ransomware spread
- → System downtime
- → Unauthorized access
- → Potential impact to food-safety processes
- The client required a structured engineering-led approach to migrate assets into a secure OT network without disrupting production
Our Approach
Engineering & Planning
- Reviewed existing network diagrams, IP schemas, device configurations, and vendor documentation.
- Identified OT assets requiring migration and mapped communication dependencies.
- Designed the target segmented OT network (VLANs, routing, firewall policies).
- Developed migration plans, backups, rollback steps, and coordinated with production teams.
Field Implementation
- Prepared and validated switch/firewall configurations and engineering tools.
- Executed controlled cutovers: IP changes, gateway updates, and communication testing with SCADA, historians, batching, packaging, and refrigeration systems.
- Performed post-migration validation, alarm/interlock checks, and updated as-built documentation.
Value to Customer / Issues Resolved
- 01 Eliminated flat, shared IT/OT networks that exposed control assets to enterprise threats
- 02 Reduced ransomware propagation and unauthorized access risk across PLC/HMI environments
- 03 Improved stability and determinism of OT communications
- 04 Enabled ISA/IEC 62443-aligned segmentation and clear security boundaries
- 05 Enhanced visibility and readiness for future OT monitoring, IDS/IPS, and secure remote access initiatives
Outcome
- → Significantly reduced cyberattack surface by removing OT assets from corporate IT exposure
- → Improved reliability of batching, conveying, refrigeration, packaging, and QC systems
- → Achieved stronger alignment with ISA/IEC 62443 and food-safety audit expectations (BRC, SQF)
- → Executed all migrations with zero unplanned downtime, validated against production and safety requirements
- → Positioned the organization for advanced OT security capabilities, including network monitoring and lifecycle cybersecurity governance
Who Should Engage Arista Cyber?
IT and OT Leaders in industrial & critical infrastructure operations who want assurance, resilience, and measurable security outcomes.
What's The Next Step?
- Schedule a Cyber Risk Assessment
- Conduct an Executive Workshop
- Start OT Security Roadmap Planning
Arista Cyber secures operations so your plant can run safely, reliably, and confidently into the future.