Trellix NDR Enhances OT-IT Security for CISOs to Close Risk Gap

Executive Summary

The increasing convergence of operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) environments has expanded the cyber threat landscape significantly, creating complex visibility and response challenges. This threat intelligence report highlights Trellix's latest Network Detection and Response (NDR) enhancements, which strengthen OT-IT security by integrating comprehensive visibility across diverse network zones, empowering CISOs to detect and respond to threats more effectively. By offering deep behavioral analytics, AI-driven detections, and seamless OT integration without intrusive agents, Trellix addresses critical gaps where adversaries exploit the OT-IT boundary, a known vector for lateral movement and intrusion in industrial and critical infrastructure sectors. CISOs must prioritize such solutions to maintain operational resilience and regulatory compliance in an evolving threat landscape.

What Happened

Trellix announced significant upgrades to its NDR platform aimed at bridging the persistent visibility and threat response gap between OT and IT networks. Recognizing cybercriminals increasingly target the OT-IT interface to infiltrate networks stealthily, Trellix now offers certified integration with Nozomi Networks, enabling agentless monitoring of OT environments. The platform leverages AI-based behavioral detection to monitor network traffic both East-West and North-South, facilitating faster prioritization and investigation of threats. Additionally, Trellix Hyperautomation streamlines response workflows through a no-code drag-and-drop interface, helping Security Operations Centers (SOCs) reduce analyst overload and accelerate containment of complex threats such as lateral movement and encrypted channel activities.

Why This Matters for CISOs

The OT-IT boundary remains a strategic attack surface, with threat actors exploiting the less visible and traditionally siloed OT networks to bypass conventional security controls. 82% of CISOs acknowledge that failing to converge OT and IT defenses significantly raises enterprise risk exposure and compliance challenges. Operational disruptions in industrial environments can translate into catastrophic financial, reputational, and safety consequences. Thus, CISOs must reassess their security strategies to include comprehensive industrial cybersecurity measures that unify visibility, detection, and response between OT and IT systems. This approach ensures stronger perimeter defense, incident prioritization, and supports compliance mandates around critical infrastructure security.

Threat & Risk Analysis

Adversaries commonly exploit the IT/OT boundary by compromising bridging systems, enabling lateral movement into critical OT assets such as SCADA controllers and PLCs. Attack vectors include encrypted traffic tunnels, DNS tunneling, and subtle anomalies in operational networks often missed by traditional IT-centric tools. The integration of Trellix NDR with Nozomi Networks provides enhanced anomaly detection within OT traffic, allowing SOCs to deploy threat hunting and forensic analysis specifically tailored to industrial environments. The automated response capability narrows the detection-to-remediation window for attacks that could lead to disruptive downtime or safety incidents. Given the increasing supply chain complexity, vulnerabilities or compromises in OT vendors or third-party systems amplify enterprise risk. Embracing unified OT-IT monitoring supported by threat intelligence is essential to proactively defend against evolving tactics targeting critical infrastructure.
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MITRE ATT&CK Mapping

• T1071.001 — Application Layer Protocol: Web Protocols
  Trellix detects malicious command and control over web protocols crossing OT-IT boundaries.
• T1046 — Network Service Scanning
  Behavioral analytics identify reconnaissance activities within OT networks.
• T1486 — Data Encrypted for Impact
  Automated response reduces ransomware impact on industrial systems.
• T1021.001 — Remote Services: Remote Desktop Protocol
  Detection of lateral movements using RDP into OT assets.
• T1090 — Proxy
  Identification of attackers using proxy techniques to obfuscate communication.
• T1562.001 — Impair Defenses: Disable or Modify Tools
  Alerts on attempts to disable monitoring tools in both IT and OT environments.
• T1086 — PowerShell
  Detection of malicious PowerShell scripts bridging OT and IT systems.

Key Implications for Enterprise Security

• Bridging OT and IT network visibility is critical to uncover stealthy threats.
• Automated workflows reduce analyst fatigue and speed up response times.
• AI-driven behavioral detection helps disrupt advanced attack chains early.
• Agentless OT monitoring lowers operational disruption and deployment complexity.
• Enhancing OT-IT SOC synergy supports both defense-in-depth and regulatory compliance.

Recommended Defenses & Actions

Immediate (0–24h)

• Validate integration capabilities with Nozomi Networks for OT visibility.
• Review network segmentation and access policies at OT-IT boundaries.
• Identify existing gaps in East-West traffic monitoring across environments.

Short Term (1–7 days)

• Deploy and configure Trellix NDR enhancements where applicable.
• Train SOC analysts on OT threat hunting techniques and alert triage.
• Automate response workflows focusing on lateral movement and encrypted tunnels.

Strategic (30 days)

• Establish cross-team collaboration frameworks aligning OT and IT security operations.
• Incorporate OT security metrics into enterprise risk dashboards.
• Conduct regular tabletop exercises simulating OT-IT breach scenarios.

Conclusion

CISOs must remain vigilant as the cyber threat landscape increasingly targets critical infrastructure at the OT-IT convergence point. This cybersecurity report underscores the need for integrated, AI-powered NDR platforms like Trellix’s latest innovations to enhance unified visibility, accelerate response, and reinforce industrial cybersecurity. Proactive defense and automated orchestration across operational technology and information technology ecosystems are essential to safeguard enterprise resilience and critical operations against sophisticated adversaries.