Case Study: Navigating IT/OT network segmentation in South America

Over the last two years, Axiomis embarked on a long-term project for a major North American-based international corporation to properly segment their IT and OT networks across 20 + sites.

Axiomis took this opportunity to expand our organization internationally to increase our market opportunities in network management and security implementation.  This allowed us to develop a strong South American team based in Brazil, with the capability of servicing sites across many of the countries in South America.

Challenges – Several barriers were present as we approached the implementation and improvement of network security across this organization.

• Technical
  • Shortage of local automation personnel with in-depth network knowledge and skill set.
  • Gaps between knowledge of modern network infrastructure and the local talent pool.
  • Outdated and disorganized network infrastructure creating a cost barrier to project improvements or documentation efforts.
  • Price and lead time for hardware in South America can drive overall project cost and timeline, creating value concerns for local operations
  • Geographic distances across the South American countries can add to difficulties in cost and timelines. Locally available integrators might require extensive travel time to reach and support individual operations.
• Political
  • South American industrial sector still lags in prioritizing network cybersecurity despite gains in global awareness.
  • Lower risk awareness for cyber threats and the need for robust security measures in industrial environments.
  • While significantly behind North America on security risk awareness, this area has benefited as a smaller target for security attacks.
  • Lack of centralized corporate-level groups within organizations that take responsibility for network security and implementation, leading to fragmented mitigation efforts.
  • Fragmentation leads to difficulties in developing, implementing, and enforcing system-wide standards.
  • Prioritization of production-focused efforts often leaves network security to fall off the radar for improvement efforts and budget allocation.

Approach – We worked with this organization as a key partner to develop, design, and implement the changes in South America to match the performance attained within the North American segment of this organization.

• Corporate commitment – Developed a corporate commitment to network security implementation across the global organization to achieve consistent standards performance.
• Phased approach – To manage the budget and timeline concerns within the South American group, a phased approach was developed to achieve improvements in manageable and measurable segments
  • Phase 1 – Assessment – An on-site assessment of each operation was conducted to provide a detailed room-to-room plan for the implementation.
  • Phase 2 – IT/OT Segmentation
  • Phase 3 – IDMZ implementation and long-term support
• Hybrid Staffing
  • Develop a local (South American) team of technical experts as an arm of our company to manage the majority of physical installation and support work.
  • Remote support personnel – The current group of North American personnel are available for remote support and configuration.  This group is also available for travel when needed for on-site installations.
• Plant-level opportunities
  • Enhanced training and development of site-level personnel
  • Updated investment in infrastructure, primarily fiber
  • Fostering a stronger plant-level staff culture of cybersecurity awareness
  • Educate local management on the long-term benefits of secure network segmentation

Result/Status

• Axiomis developed a local subsidiary team of talented technicians and managers to provide a high level of commitment and support in this geographic area.
• The Phase 1 assessment was completed in 2024, which allowed for a complete installation plan and cost assessment for the Phase 2 implementation.
• Phase 2 IT/OT Segmentation installation has been completed across 10 of 22 facilities with 5 planned for completion by the end of 2025.

Summary

• Development of a local in-country team has been a key component in addressing many of the barriers to operating internationally. Expansion of the core team with increasing opportunities will further expand our reach in this area.
• Developing and maintaining strategies for sourcing hardware is crucial to managing timelines and cost expectations.  This is a stark contrast to the ability to easily select between multiple suppliers for standardized equipment, meeting the needs of network security.
• Completing and maintaining detailed network documentation will help achieve significant long-term benefits in the maintenance of the network infrastructure and future expansion and updates to the system.
• Axiomis will also continue to explore strategic partnerships for regional support and logistics where our experience can provide value in similar applications.