OT Red Team AssessmentsSafely validate your real operational risk.

An OT Red Team Assessment is a controlled, OT-safe security engagement that simulates how a real attacker could compromise industrial operations. Mithryl Systems evaluates whether an adversary could gain access to critical assets, move through the environment, evade detection, and impact production without disrupting normal operations.

Unlike traditional security assessments, OT Red Team Assessments are designed around operational safety, production continuity, and realistic attack paths.

A penetration test focuses on identifying and exploiting technical vulnerabilities in systems or applications.

An OT Red Team Assessment goes much further by emulating real-world adversary behavior across people, processes, technology, and operational workflows. The objective is to determine whether an attacker could achieve operational objectives, whether existing defenses detect the activity, and how the organization would respond.

Rather than producing a list of vulnerabilities, an OT Red Team Assessment measures operational resilience.

No.

Mithryl Systems follows an OT-safe methodology specifically designed for industrial environments. Testing is carefully planned with stakeholders, coordinated through approved change management processes, and conducted using techniques that protect production, safety, and reliability.

Our goal is to safely validate defenses without introducing unnecessary operational risk.

Attack scenarios are based on real-world adversary techniques observed targeting industrial environments.

Typical scenarios may include:

• Initial access through remote connections
• Credential compromise
• Privilege escalation
• Lateral movement
• Engineering workstation compromise
• Controller access attempts
• Industrial protocol abuse
• Detection evasion
• Operational disruption scenarios

Each engagement is tailored to the customer's environment and risk profile.

Our assessments evaluate whether an attacker could:

• Gain unauthorized access
• Reach critical OT assets
• Move laterally across environments
• Evade existing security controls
• Compromise engineering systems
• Impact production processes
• Trigger security detections
• Be investigated effectively
• Be contained safely

The goal is to understand operational risk, not simply identify vulnerabilities.

Testing activities are designed to protect live industrial environments.

Mithryl Systems uses carefully planned methodologies that prioritize operational safety and coordinate all activities with the customer. Testing is tailored to the maturity of the environment and avoids actions that could unnecessarily impact production or personnel safety.

MITRE ATT&CK for ICS is a globally recognized framework that documents tactics and techniques used by adversaries targeting industrial control systems.

Mithryl Systems uses ATT&CK for ICS to design realistic attack scenarios, evaluate detection coverage, measure defensive effectiveness, and identify opportunities to improve operational resilience.

The duration depends on the scope and complexity of the engagement.

Smaller targeted assessments may be completed in a matter of weeks, while larger enterprise engagements involving multiple facilities, engineering teams, and operational technologies typically require additional planning and execution time.

Every assessment begins with collaborative scoping to ensure objectives align with operational priorities.

Each engagement provides actionable deliverables designed for both technical teams and executive leadership.

Deliverables typically include:

• Executive Summary
• Attack Path Analysis
• Detection Findings
• Operational Risk Assessment
• Prioritized Recommendations
• Roadmap and Next Steps

The emphasis is on helping organizations improve operational resilience, not simply documenting technical findings.

Yes.

Every assessment concludes with prioritized recommendations that focus on reducing operational risk and improving detection, visibility, and response capabilities.

Recommendations are ranked based on business impact, operational feasibility, and risk reduction rather than simply listing vulnerabilities.

Most organizations should conduct an OT Red Team Assessment whenever significant changes occur within their operational environment, such as deploying new technologies, expanding facilities, implementing major cybersecurity initiatives, or responding to evolving threats.

Regular assessments help validate that defenses remain effective as industrial environments and adversary techniques continue to change.

Yes.

One of the primary objectives is validating whether existing monitoring and detection capabilities can identify realistic attack activity.

Assessment findings frequently reveal detection gaps, visibility issues, telemetry deficiencies, and opportunities to improve Detection Engineering and operational monitoring.

Yes.

While the primary objective is improving operational resilience, assessment findings often support cybersecurity governance, risk management, and regulatory readiness for frameworks such as:

• IEC 62443
• NERC CIP
• NIST Cybersecurity Framework
• NIST SP 800-82
• TSA Security Directives
• Industry-specific operational cybersecurity requirements

The assessment demonstrates that security controls have been validated under realistic operational conditions.

OT Red Team Assessments benefit any organization operating critical infrastructure or industrial control systems.

Organizations commonly include:

• Electric Utilities
• Renewable Energy
• Oil and Gas
• Water and Wastewater
• Manufacturing
• Transportation
• Industrial Facilities

The methodology is designed around operational technology rather than a specific industry sector.

Mithryl Systems focuses on operational outcomes rather than simply demonstrating technical exploits.

Our methodology combines:

• OT-safe testing
• Operational context
• ATT&CK for ICS alignment
• Detection validation
• Operational risk analysis
• Executive reporting
• Detection Engineering insights
• Practical remediation guidance

Every assessment is designed to answer a fundamental business question:

Can an attacker impact our operations, and would we know before it's too late?

The best place to begin is by downloading the OT Red Team Assessment Datasheet to understand our methodology, deliverables, and approach.

Organizations that are ready to evaluate their operational resilience can also schedule a conversation with a Mithryl Systems expert to define assessment objectives, scope, operational constraints, and expected outcomes before planning begins.