When it comes to improving OT (operational technology) cybersecurity, a vulnerability assessment provides insightful information so businesses can have a better understanding of their infrastructure and security risks. A vulnerability assessment analyzes the environment to discover potential issues that might compromise security, overall business operations, compliance and/or network privacy. The purpose is to use this insight to address these issues before a malicious actor gains unauthorized access.
Vulnerability Assessments identify vulnerabilities, misconfigurations and gaps against OT security best practices. Each finding gets assigned a severity level along with direction on how to remediate or mitigate the issues so they can be fixed before it becomes an issue.
At Red Trident, our vulnerability assessment approach is comprehensive and precise, segmented into four key modules: domain enumeration, workstation enumeration, network enumeration, and configuration analysis.
Most environments rely on Active Directory to manage users and resources, but misconfigurations can create real security risks. Our domain enumeration module scans for exposures within directory services—like over-privileged user accounts, vulnerable service accounts, and insecure delegation settings—without disrupting your systems. We identify issues such as excessive permissions, susceptible user objects (including those at risk of kerberoasting or AS-REP roasting), and improper delegation, providing actionable insight to strengthen your network’s security.
Industrial environments often depend on numerous Windows-based systems. Our workstation enumeration digs deep into each endpoint, assessing OS builds, installed applications, and security controls. We look for mismanaged local admin accounts, outdated software, and services that could allow attackers to escalate privileges or move laterally. By uncovering these risks, we help you reinforce the security of every workstation in your network.
Operational Technology (OT) networks require extra care during assessment. Red Trident’s team conducts thorough, non-intrusive network enumeration using passive methods like network sniffing and DNS analysis to avoid any operational disruptions. We map your network topology and identify assets, searching for weak points such as default credentials, devices exposed to the internet, and insecure protocols in use. All assessments are fully coordinated with your team and conducted with proper authorization to ensure safe, reliable operations.
Proper configuration is key to defense in depth. Our configuration analysis reviews critical settings and parameters across firewalls, switches, and other network devices. We compare your current configurations against best practices and industry standards, highlighting issues like overly permissive firewall rules or exposed services. This analysis helps you close gaps that could be exploited by attackers or cause operational issues.
There are many cybersecurity companies that offer vulnerability assessments, but very few focus on ICS environments and OT security. The Red Trident Team has decades of experience across multiple ICS environments and verticals. We understand that production environments are sensitive and often very complex. We recognize that even potential small interruptions to the operation can have a profound impact on the outputs. Our Vulnerability Assessments use custom tools build specifically for OT Cybersecurity.
We understand that common mitigation controls, such as patching, might not be possible due to the sensitivities of solutions and technology commonly found within ICS environments. For reasons like this, our vulnerability assessment process includes collaboration and working with your team to make sure we’re addressing your concerns and unique business environments.
Once the assessment is concluded, customers can expect to receive a report consisting of the following components:
At Red Trident, we do more than provide cybersecurity assessments—we build partnerships. Your business goals and risk profile drive everything we do. From the moment we engage, our focus is on understanding your unique operating environment, listening to your concerns, and aligning our recommendations with your organizational priorities.
Our team is comprised of recognized leaders in industrial cybersecurity, with decades of experience across critical infrastructure, manufacturing, government, and defense sectors. You may have seen us on stage at global security conferences like DEF CON, Black Hat, or SANS ICS Summits. But what truly sets us apart is our commitment to clear, actionable communication—translating complex risk into practical insights your executive team can act upon.
When you choose Red Trident, you get a proactive partner committed to your long-term security posture, not just a report. Let’s move your security program forward—together.
We can conduct network vulnerability assessments either onsite or remotely. We typically recommend remote but in rare cases that involve very complex environments, an onsite visit can be arranged. Remote also lets us do the assessment with less set-up time and is more cost effective, while still providing vital insight into the threat landscape of your organization.
We work with you to develop rules of engagement such as respecting windows of time where the assessment should not be performed, not using tools that may result in high volume network traffic or could cause denial of service situations, etc. Our goal is to discover your vulnerabilities without negatively impacting your operations. We’re happy to work with whatever constraints you have.
Yes, we offer many options. We can take care of remediation for you or work together with your team to handle components that are outside their expertise. We also offer training options if that’s something that you’re interested in.
Once remediation is complete, you can send the assessment back over to Red Trident to now conduct penetration testing of the environment to test the validity of the implemented controls and remediations. Once complete, you will receive a report referencing the network vulnerability assessment report and findings associated with the engagement. Security is an ongoing matter… we recommend you continue with maintaining security updates, regular scans and incorporate security best practices. It’s also great to schedule ahead for your next assessment.
The minimum recommended interval is once per year or after significant changes to infrastructure or business operations have been made. However, depending on the business criticality of the systems being tested, some businesses opt for quarterly or monthly testing. Organizations with high-security requirements may also be required to complete a vulnerability assessment at specific intervals for compliance or when a merger or acquisition (M&A) is being considered.
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