The report, State of Industrial Remote Access 2026, highlights a growing disconnect between technical capability and administrative oversight. In North America, 57% of organizations juggle six or more external vendors with persistent access to operational technology. Despite this reliance, fewer than half can fully audit vendor sessions, and only 23% conduct monthly credential reviews. This lack of visibility turns legitimate access into a primary attack vector, as hackers increasingly exploit trusted identities to bypass traditional defenses.
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Manufacturers struggle to govern third-party access to OT networks
While manufacturers have fortified their perimeters against ransomware, a critical blind spot remains within their own walls. New research from Secomea reveals that while industrial organizations are successfully enabling remote connectivity, they are failing to adequately govern the third-party vendors who use those connections to maintain operations.
Knud Kegel, CTPO at Secomea, argues that the solution is not to reduce vendor reliance, but to implement stricter governance frameworks. Organizations that share responsibility for remote access between IT and OT departments report fewer security incidents, suggesting that silos are a significant liability. To close these gaps, the industry is moving toward centralized platforms that replace fragmented VPNs with just-in-time access, comprehensive audit trails, and automated credential revocation. The goal is to maintain the speed of modern manufacturing without sacrificing the ability to trace every action taken within a critical production environment.
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