Securing IT and OT with SecurityHive’s Honeypot

The challenge: safeguarding IT and OT environments

‍Unlike typical office-based organizations, production companies operate not only in an IT environment but also in an OT (Operational Technology) environment. For this cooperative, the OT environment is absolutely critical — downtime is simply not an option. If the production facility were to shut down due to a cyber incident, the business impact would be enormous, halting feed production and disrupting the entire agricultural chain.

The cooperative realized that protecting its OT systems was essential. In particular, its Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) — the devices controlling machines, temperature regulation, and other production processes — represented a major potential entry point for attackers.

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The solution: SecurityHive Honeypots in IT and OT

‍SecurityHive deployed honeypots in both the IT and OT environments. Within OT, the honeypot is configured to imitate PLCs, supporting protocols such as MODBUS that are commonly used in industrial systems. This setup ensures that malicious attempts are diverted: attackers engage with the decoy PLC rather than the real production systems. In simple terms, the honeypot ensures attackers “talk” to SecurityHive’s PLC, preventing any real damage to the cooperative’s OT infrastructure.

The implementation in OT did not prove more complex than in IT — the key difference lies in supporting the right industrial protocols. In fact, OT environments often make deployment easier because they are frequently managed by external parties, such as major industrial equipment manufacturers. SecurityHive honeypots also handle legacy systems seamlessly, which is an advantage given the older software often found in OT environments.

Meanwhile, honeypots were also placed in the office (IT) environment. Employees are often the first entry point for attackers through methods like phishing. By detecting malicious behavior early, honeypots provide an additional safety net, allowing suspicious activity to be identified before it escalates.

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Monitoring and visibility

‍All alerts are collected within SecurityHive’s centralized security dashboard. The client has direct access and acts upon notifications themselves. Additionally, SecurityHive integrates with SIEM platforms to further streamline monitoring.

Business benefits

‍By deploying honeypots across both IT and OT, the cooperative gained several key benefits:

• Operational continuity protected: With honeypots safeguarding PLCs and OT systems, the risk of production downtime is drastically reduced.
• Early detection of threats: Honeypots capture malicious behavior before attackers can cause real damage, ensuring rapid response.
• Coverage across all environments: Both office IT systems and industrial OT infrastructure are monitored, reducing vulnerabilities at every level.
• Legacy system support: Honeypots can mimic and integrate with older industrial systems, ensuring no gaps in protection.

Improved security posture: Unlike purely preventive solutions, honeypots reveal attackers already inside the network, providing visibility into hidden threats.

For this land- and horticulture cooperative, SecurityHive’s honeypots have become an indispensable layer of protection. By combining IT and OT coverage, supporting industrial protocols, and enabling early detection, honeypots ensure that production continuity is never compromised — while giving the organization actionable visibility into threats that traditional defenses may miss.