With over 60+ facilities across North America, a leading chemical manufacturer needed to ensure its OT/ICS environments were resilient, compliant, and future-ready. To achieve this, they engaged Arista Cyber to conduct a comprehensive OT Cybersecurity Assessment based on the ISA/IEC 62443 framework. The engagement delivered a robust assessment report, a proposed resilient Purdue Model architecture, and a practical roadmap to guide their cybersecurity journey across all sites.

The Story Begins

With over 60 sites spread across the continent, the organization’s leadership asked the tough question: Do we truly understand the risks across all our OT environments, and are we aligned with global standards like IEC 62443?

In chemical manufacturing, the margin for error is razor thin. Safety, efficiency, and trust all rely on resilient operations. For one of North America’s largest chemical producers, the growing wave of cyber threats presented a challenge that could not be ignored.

The Challenge

The client faced a daunting set of challenges:

1. Scale & Complexity - Managing cybersecurity consistently across more than 60 diverse sites.
2. Lack of Unified Architecture - Existing network and control system designs varied widely, with no resilient baseline.
3. Growing Regulatory Pressure - Customers and regulators demanded alignment with recognized frameworks like IEC 62443.
4. Strategic Roadmap Needed - Leadership required not just a report, but a clear, actionable plan for immediate and long-term improvements.

Our Approach

Arista Cyber assigned a senior consultant with 20+ years of OT and automation experience, supported by a junior consultant, to guide the project. The methodology combined technical depth with practical deliverables:

1. Cybersecurity Assessment

   - Conducted a detailed maturity and posture evaluation across representative sites
   - Benchmarked against ISA/IEC 62443 principles.

2. Architecture Design

   - Proposed a resilient Purdue Model architecture tailored for chemical operations.
   - Addressed segmentation, zones & conduits, and defense-in-depth strategies.

3. Roadmap Development

   - Built a phased OT/ICS cybersecurity roadmap with short-, medium-, and long-term initiatives.
   - Prioritized actions to balance risk reduction with operational feasibility.

4. Executive Engagement

   - Prepared a management summary (PPT) to ensure leaders understood risks, priorities, and investment needs.

Key Deliverables

• Cybersecurity Assessment Report aligned with IEC 62443
• Proposed Purdue Model architecture for resilient OT operations
• ICS/OT Cybersecurity Roadmap with phased recommendations
• Executive management summary (PPT) for leadership alignment

Results & Impact

The engagement enabled the chemical manufacturer to:

• Gain Visibility – Clear understanding of OT cybersecurity maturity across 60+ facilities.
• Standardize Security – A unified Purdue-based architecture to drive consistent practices across sites.
• Plan Strategically – A phased roadmap that balanced quick wins with long-term transformation.
• Align Leadership – Executives gained clarity on risks and actions, ensuring cybersecurity became a board-level priority.
• Build Resilience – A future-ready cybersecurity posture capable of withstanding evolving threats.

For this chemical giant, cybersecurity moved beyond a compliance checkbox—it became a strategic enabler of safe, reliable operations across North America. By combining assessment, architecture, and roadmap, Arista Cyber helped transform complexity into clarity and vulnerability into resilience.