C-Suite Takes Charge: Fortinet’s 2025 OT Cybersecurity Report Reveals Executive Wake-Up Call

In an era where pipelines, power grids, and factory floors are prime targets for cyberattacks, organizations are finally taking operational technology (OT) security seriously — from the boardroom down.

Fortinet’s newly released 2025 State of Operational Technology and Cybersecurity Report reveals a global shift in how OT cybersecurity is prioritized, funded, and governed. In a striking reversal from previous years, responsibility for OT risk is rapidly consolidating in the hands of executive leadership, particularly CISOs and CSOs — a trend Fortinet sees as pivotal to curbing the most damaging kinds of cyber intrusions.

“The seventh installment of the Fortinet State of Operational Technology and Cybersecurity Report shows that organizations are taking OT security more seriously,” said Nirav Shah, Senior Vice President of Products and Solutions at Fortinet. “We see this trend reflected in a notable increase in the assignment of responsibility for OT risk to the C-suite.”

According to the report, 52% of organizations now have their CISO or CSO overseeing OT security — up from just 16% in 2022. In the broader executive suite, that figure leaps to 95%, cementing OT risk management as a board-level concern. And it’s not just a paper shift. Nearly 80% of respondents say they plan to formally move OT security under the CISO’s remit within the next year.

Maturity Brings Measurable Results

This leadership shift appears to be driving real-world security gains. Fortinet’s data shows that as organizations climb the OT security maturity ladder, they report fewer attacks — and less damage when intrusions do occur. For instance, operational outages that impacted revenue dropped from 52% last year to 42% in 2025.

Level 1 maturity — where organizations begin implementing segmentation and visibility controls — rose to 26%, up from 20% in 2024. Many others reached Level 2, where user profiling and access control kick in. Those further along in maturity were better equipped to blunt common tactics like phishing and malware — though the report notes that lower-maturity orgs may be underreporting more sophisticated attacks due to lack of detection capability.

From Point Tools to Platform Thinking

The report also suggests that organizations are wising up about vendor sprawl. Nearly four in five now rely on just one to four OT device vendors — a marked drop that signals consolidation and improved operational control. This trend aligns with Fortinet’s own emphasis on unified platforms over patchwork defenses.

“Alongside these trends, we’re seeing a decrease in the impact of intrusions in organizations that prioritize OT security,” Shah said. “Everyone from the C-suite on down needs to commit to protecting sensitive OT systems and allocating the necessary resources to secure their critical operations.”

According to Fortinet, customers using its integrated OT Security Platform experienced a 93% reduction in incidents and a sevenfold increase in response efficiency, thanks to centralized management and automated threat response.

Best Practices: Less Guesswork, More Playbooks

The report doesn’t just identify problems — it prescribes solutions. Fortinet recommends organizations adopt a hardened, segmented network architecture aligned with ISA/IEC 62443 standards, integrate OT environments into broader SecOps efforts, and lean into AI-driven, OT-specific threat intelligence.

Critically, playbooks that explicitly include OT environments are now seen as foundational to modern incident response — a shift that encourages stronger collaboration between IT, production, and executive teams.

A Global Cross-Section of Risk

Fortinet’s findings draw from a global survey of more than 550 OT professionals across 30+ countries and diverse industries, from oil and gas to healthcare and manufacturing. Regardless of geography or vertical, the message is clear: OT cybersecurity can no longer be treated as an operational afterthought. It’s now a strategic imperative.

The report’s conclusion is unambiguous — organizations that centralize responsibility, raise their maturity, and simplify their architectures are not only reducing their attack surface but doing so in ways that improve performance and resiliency.

And for once, cybersecurity isn’t just an IT problem — it’s a C-suite priority.