Trust Me, It's Air-Gapped

In this episode of Trust Me, It's Air-Gapped, host Scott Christensen, Cyber Practice Director, GrayMatter, sits down with Alex Seibel, VP of Global Channel Sales & Strategic Alliances, AMDT — live from Warsaw, Poland — to dig into what's behind the growth of AMDT's OT cybersecurity tool, Octoplant.What started as a backup and version control platform has evolved into a tool that leverages configuration backup data to unlock vulnerability management, asset inventory, compliance auditing and visibility. Octoplant does this without the risks that come from passive network scanning or sending sensitive OT data to the cloud.They also cover the IT/OT divide, and why Octoplant is one of the rare tools that plant engineers and CISOs both actually want to use. Plus, Alex shares a real-world example of a global manufacturer onboarding over 4,000 devices across a production site in just two days.Visit graymattersystems.com.

Tom Sipes, Director of Information Security at Eagle Materials, and Scott Christensen, GrayMatter Cyber Practice Director, share how they collaborated to build an OT cybersecurity program that accounted for many different types of plants and operations at Eagle Materials, a major building materials manufacturer.From a sleepless security incident to leading a multi-year transformation, Tom walks through the challenges of securing highly distributed, acquisition-driven environments with disparate systems and limited visibility. He breaks down why traditional IT approaches fail in OT and how security decisions must always be balanced against operational impact.The episode explores key themes shaping modern OT security:Why “air-gapped” is a myth in today’s connected plantsThe importance of visibility, segmentation, and controlled accessHow backup, version control and recovery readiness can prevent issuesWhy safety is the top priority in industrial environmentsMost importantly, Tom emphasizes that OT security is not a one-time fix. It’s an ongoing journey.

Scott Christensen of GrayMatter and Dominic Busa from Airwall (JCI) discuss the real-world challenges of securing operational technology environments .Scott and Dominic unpack the limitations of traditional firewall-based security and explain the shift toward identity-defined networking, micro-segmentation and zero trust. Instead of assuming that devices on the same network should trust each other, the model moves toward explicit, policy-driven communication — where Machine A can only talk to Machine B if it’s explicitly allowed .A major theme: segmentation doesn’t have to mean disruption. Through overlay networking, manufacturers can wrap policy around existing flat networks without ripping and replacing infrastructure or taking production offline .The episode also covers:Secure, time-bound remote access for OEMs and contractorsReplacing costly private radio networks with secure cellularProtecting legacy, un-patchable systems through compensating controlsReducing public asset exposure and shrinking attack surfacesEmbedding cybersecurity into digital transformation strategies instead of bolting it on laterIf you're modernizing operations, moving data to the cloud, or expanding remote access, this episode makes one thing clear: cybersecurity isn’t a checkbox. It’s infrastructure for digital transformation. Visit graymattersystems.com.

In the first episode of Trust Me, It’s Air-Gapped, Scott Christensen and Tom Walker take on one of the most common assumptions in OT cybersecurity: that industrial systems can be truly isolated.Based on real assessments across critical infrastructure and manufacturing environments, they break down how air gaps are unintentionally defeated by contractor laptops, Wi-Fi hotspots, cloud-connected devices, remote data collection and well-intentioned IT integrations. Scott and Tom explain why “monitoring only” connections still matter, how undocumented data flows create hidden risk and why PLCs and control PCs often bridge IT and OT without anyone realizing it.They discuss how increased scrutiny from cyber insurers and IT teams is forcing organizations to better understand their OT environments, and why documenting data flows and connectivity is now critical to managing both risk and insurance costs .If you think your environment is air-gapped, this episode explains why it probably isn’t, and what to do about it.

They said it was air-gapped. It wasn’t.Trust Me, It’s Air-Gapped is a practical OT cybersecurity podcast hosted by GrayMatter expert Scott Christensen Real stories, real systems, real risks and fewer assumptions. Each month, Scott will be talking to professionals working in the OT cybersecurity field. Join us!