The Client – an overview
A premier oil and gas organization operating in India, with operations spanning exploration, drilling, extraction, refining, and distribution, a part of upstream, midstream, and downstream activities. The organization has major IT setups related to business and exploration activities, spread across the country. It operates more than 32 data centers across India, connected through a wide area network (WAN), along with several standalone facilities supporting critical field operations.
Background and Key Challenges
Most business functions today rely extensively on IT systems. In the oil and gas sector, exploration activities are largely driven by geological, geophysical, and other data across all three key API phases, which include Acquisition, Processing, and Interpretation, supported by specialized IT platforms. Similarly, reserve estimation and reservoir studies depend on advanced IT systems designed for complex data analysis. Data is also continuously generated and collected during drilling, logging, production, and other related operational activities. Additionally, SCADA systems play a critical role in monitoring and managing Oil & Gas production, enabling real-time oversight and operational control. Here, as the client’s organization expanded its digital infrastructure across multiple operational sites and data centers, it faced increasing challenges,
- Limited visibility across IT and OT environments, more importantly, at remote operational sites.
- Lack of centralized monitoring and correlation of security events across the distributed systems.
- Absence of a comprehensive asset inventory, which made it difficult to monitor field-level devices and industrial control systems.
- Trouble in rapidly detecting, isolating, and responding to cyber threats targeting critical infrastructure.
- In the absence of integrated monitoring across enterprise IT and industrial environments, assessing the overall security posture of the organization’s facilities and quickly detecting, isolating, preventing, and remediating attacks became increasingly difficult.
◆ Converged IT and OT networks with limited segmentation, causing increased exposure to lateral cyber threats.
◆ Unsecured OT network zones and weak access control mechanisms.
◆ Presence of unauthorized software on OT‑connected systems.
◆ Use of workgroup‑based systems without centralized security enforcement.
◆ Limited awareness among staff regarding OT cybersecurity policies and operational security practices.
◆ Lack of structured OT cybersecurity training programs.
◆ Inadequately reviewed and documented OT network security policies.
◆ Increased operational risk from potential cyberattacks capable of manipulating industrial systems and algorithms.
◆ Safety and security concerns involving airport ground staff and critical operational systems, where certain attacks could potentially trigger physical damage or even life-threatening incidents, including blast scenarios.
To address these challenges, the organizations partnered with Inspira Enterprise to establish a secure and resilient OT Security Operations Center (OT SOC) environment.
◆ Enhance visibility across critical OT assets and industrial control systems.
◆ Conduct OT-safe vulnerability assessments, minimizing operational risk.
◆ Review and harden OT switches and firewall configurations
◆ Implement OT cybersecurity controls aligned with IEC 62443 standards.
◆ Segregation of IT and OT networks to minimize cyber risk exposure.
◆ Establish a centralized OT SOC for continuous monitoring and threat management.
◆ Design and validate OT architecture based on the Purdue Enterprise Reference Architecture
◆ Deploy layered security controls to prevent unauthorized access and lateral movement.
◆ Enhance operational resilience while ensuring uninterrupted airport operations.
◆ Build cybersecurity awareness and governance across OT teams and stakeholders.
◆ Ensure a reduction in the possibility of cyber incidents causing operational disruption or physical harm.
The Solution: Inspira Enterprise Approach
Inspira, the global Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, and AI services provider, was entrusted with the task of transforming the Client’s operations.
Inspira Enterprise began working with the client to evaluate cyber risks across both IT and operational environments. Leveraging its vast experience in large-scale AI/ML-driven SOC platform deployments across on-premise and through managed security centers, Inspira developed a comprehensive plan to implement an end-to-end cybersecurity monitoring framework. This enabled advanced analytics and intelligent threat detection and was designed to enhance operational visibility, strengthen threat detection capabilities, and improve overall cyber resilience. The solution was designed to anticipate emerging cyber threats, detect and respond to attacks in real time, safeguard the critical industrial infrastructure, and maintain operational safety while ensuring business continuity.
Hardware
- On-premise security monitoring appliances
Services
- 24×7 SOC monitoring
- Incident response
- Threat hunting
- Vulnerability management
- Risk assessment and mitigation
Software Platforms
- SIEM: RSA Security Analytics
- Forensics: RSA
- Governance, Risk & Compliance: RSA GRC
- Database Activity Monitoring: Imperva DAM
- Security Orchestration: CyberBit SOAR
To ensure robust protection of enterprise and operational systems, Inspira established an on-premise 24×7 Information Security Operations Center (ISOC) for continuous monitoring and management of security incidents and vulnerabilities.
The ISOC enabled the organization to:
- Provide broader organizational support for information security
- Ensure early detection of security incidents
- Monitor and defend enterprise systems, including websites, business applications, databases, data centers, servers, networks, endpoints, and desktops
- Reduce risks associated with regulatory and compliance requirements
- Deliver comprehensive reporting and security analytics
Phase 1 – IT Infrastructure Security Integration
In this phase, the focus was on integrating and monitoring the organization’s IT infrastructure, including servers, endpoints, network devices, and security appliances.
These systems were integrated into a next-generation SIEM and Big Data security analytics platform from RSA, along with additional security technologies such as SIEM, Database Activity Monitoring (DAM), Packet Capture (PCAP), Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR), and IT Governance, Risk and Compliance (IT-GRC).
Status: Phase 1 has been successfully completed and is in operation.
Phase 2 – OT Security Visibility
This Phase was aimed at extending visibility into Operational Technology (OT) environments, enabling deep inspection and monitoring of industrial control systems across geographically distributed sites.
This phase deployed Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) solutions for the ICS environment, which were integrated with the enterprise security analytics platform.
A proof of concept (POC) has already been conducted using a partner solution from Nozomi Networks, a leading OT and ICS cybersecurity platform.
Status: Phase 2 is currently under discussion following successful POC validation.
To strengthen protection of industrial environments, SCADA-qualified cybersecurity engineers trained in IEC 62443 standards were deployed within the SOC.
Inspira’s ICS-certified analysts deliver the following services:
- Correlation of security logs and generation of actionable alerts
- Real-time detection and reporting of critical security incidents
- Forensic investigations and root cause analysis
- Vulnerability assessments across networks, servers, databases, and applications
- Development and implementation of remediation strategies
- External and internal penetration testing (on demand)
- Continuous risk assessment across distributed data centers
- Threat intelligence generation through the identification of attack patterns
- Continuous updates on emerging threats and vulnerabilities via OEM, cloud, and government intelligence sources
Business Impact and Benefits
The deployment of the integrated IT-OT SOC delivered significant improvements in cybersecurity visibility, operational resilience, and risk management.
Real-time operational visibility across IT and OT environments
Enhanced cybersecurity posture for critical infrastructure
Rapid detection and mitigation of threats targeting industrial control systems
Improved protection of process reliability and operational safety
Creation of a global, automated asset inventory with detailed device intelligence
Better threat intelligence and proactive risk mitigation
Strengthened compliance and reporting capabilities
ROI Impact
- Automation lowered the cost per incident handled and deferred hiring needs for additional L1 analysts.
- Time saved meant more value-added work, reduced burnout, and improved job satisfaction.
- Avoidance of major incident costs, potentially saving the organization between USD100,000 to USD 1 million per breach, with proactive detection and response.
About Inspira Enterprise
Inspira Enterprise is a global Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence services provider with a presence in North America, ASEAN, the Middle East, Africa, and India. It delivers adaptive, intelligent, and customer-centric solutions to various industries, including Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI), Healthcare, Public Sector, Manufacturing, Education, Oil and Gas, and Utilities. The organization’s expertise in AI-driven cybersecurity enables comprehensive protection against evolving cyber threats to help protect enterprises. It leverages advanced analytics and AI-powered threat detection to offer real-time visibility and proactive risk management, strengthening organizational security. At the core of Inspira’s offerings is iSMART2—an advanced AI-driven platform delivering continuous monitoring, analytics, and actionable insights to mitigate risks and stay ahead of emerging threats. With 1600+ professionals, Inspira successfully delivers complex transformation projects for 550+ clients. Its AI and cybersecurity capabilities empower businesses to build resilient, future-ready digital ecosystems. Learn more: www.inspiraenterprise.com.
