he global pandemic in 2020 may have
unleashed a host of new challenges for
the energy sector – but it also revealed
and vastly accelerated the existing trends already
upending how companies manage and defend their
critical energy assets, particularly when converg-
ing IT and OT operations. Nowhere is that moving
faster than in Asia.
The sudden shift to remote work forced by
the pandemic has driven organisations to adopt
remote access technologies overnight as opposed
to what would have normally taken years. This has
resulted in an expanded digital attack surface and
introduced thousands of potentially vulnerable
new connections to critical energy assets.
“The energy sector is undergoing IT/OT con-
vergence at an unprecedented rate driven by
business demands for increased efficiencies and
rapid adaptation to changing customer require-
ments. This all comes at a time when connectivity
has become essential to continue operations as
global and local travel has come to an abrupt halt,”
says Mex Martinot, Vice President and Head ofT
We examine the partnership
between Siemens and Tenable
amid the companies’ ongoing
digital transformation journeys236
FEBRUARY 2021SIEMENS ENERGY & TENABLE