Last updated: April 29, 2026
Testing OT environments has constraints that don’t exist in IT — every action could affect a physical process. A pentester used to running Burp Active Scan on a live web app would crash a power plant doing the same thing on a SCADA HMI. This module covers the methodology of safe OT testing, scoping considerations, the testing techniques that won’t break things, and the report format that gets read by both plant managers and security teams.
The cardinal rule
Never run automated active scanning against live OT systems unless explicitly authorized and engineering staff are on standby. Documented incidents include:
- Nmap SYN scans causing PLCs to enter fault state
- Vulnerability scanners triggering safety interlocks
- Penetration test in 2006 caused a $50M loss when a power-plant test box was scanned
- Numerous “we just wanted to enumerate” incidents that triggered emergency shutdowns
Get this wrong and lives can be at risk in some sectors.
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