The National Institute of Standards and Technology's National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, or NCCoE, is launching a new project aimed at enhancing visibility into operational technology, or OT, environments across critical infrastructure sectors, Federal News Network reported Thursday.
NIST's efforts to enhance asset visibility highlight the need to strengthen cybersecurity. Learn more about how the government and industry are addressing rising cyberthreats at Potomac Officers Club's 2026 Cyber Summit on May 21. Register now!
Why Is NIST Prioritizing OT Asset Visibility?
According to NCCoE Director Cherilyn Pascoe, the project follows discussions with multiple critical infrastructure sectors that identified asset management and visibility as a primary challenge. Pascoe noted that visibility is difficult in industrial control systems due to legacy equipment and distributed environments.
The OT cybersecurity project builds on earlier NCCoE efforts in water and wastewater cybersecurity and on guidance for transit agencies implementing NIST's cybersecurity framework. It is intended to address concerns about threats to OT environments targeting critical infrastructure, including risks posed by advances in artificial intelligence.
Many organizations, particularly smaller utilities, lack a comprehensive inventory of their OT assets, hindering their ability to defend against nation-state attacks. The new project aims to provide foundational guidance on identifying these components in complex industrial control system environments.
How Will NIST Advance the Effort?
NIST plans to establish a consortium of industry and government participants to support the project. The effort will examine how existing standards and frameworks can be applied to enhance visibility and how commercially available technologies can be used to build supporting architectures. The center is also evaluating potential uses of AI to support these efforts.
NIST Expands OT Cybersecurity Efforts
The new project aligns with other efforts to strengthen OT cybersecurity guidance across evolving threat environments. In January, NIST announced plans to update its Guide to Operational Technology Security special publication to incorporate lessons learned, align with related agency guidance and address emerging risks. The initiative also follows the release of a preliminary draft of the Cybersecurity Framework Profile for Artificial Intelligence, which provides guidance on the secure adoption of AI and addresses cybersecurity risks tied to its rapid advancement.
