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# Safe Use of AI in OT Environments: Gaining the Benefits without the Risk
- URL: https://www.cybrsecmedia.com/safe-use-of-ai-in-ot-environments-gaining-the-benefits-without-the-risk/
- Published: 2026-06-24T11:58:05.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-25T13:42:39.000Z
- Description: Christopher Walcutt argues that AI can be used safely in OT environments if organizations first establish strong cybersecurity maturity, segmentation, visibility, and strict containment controls.
- Author: CYBR.SEC.Media
- Tags: video, Artificial Intelligence, cybersecurity, industrial cybersecurity, Infrastructure Security, OT Cybersecurity, OT.SEC.CON. 2026, OT Security

[Christopher Walcutt](https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-walcutt-cism-cissp-45a6631/?ref=cybrsecmedia.com), Chief Security Officer at the boutique cyber firm Direct Defense, draws on nearly thirty years in OT security to outline how industrial-control organizations can adopt AI without courting catastrophe. He stresses that success hinges on having mature defenses already in place, a granular understanding of SCADA/DCS functions, and carefully chosen use cases such as predictive maintenance and cybersecurity analytics. Walcutt walks through the practical architecture—offline LLMs like LM Studio or Gemma, GPU-grade hardware, hardened network segments, and read-only data paths—while underscoring the need for rapid “kill switches,” documented baselines, and leadership buy-in before any model touches live systems.

## **Key takeaways**

- Security maturity first: only organizations with solid segmentation, visibility, and defensive capabilities should consider AI in OT.
- Know the environment in detail—specific system functions, data flows, and normal baselines are prerequisites for safe model training and anomaly detection.
- Choose focused use cases (predictive maintenance, operational efficiency, cyber correlation, training digital twins) and design segmentation and access rules around each.
- Deploy offline LLMs with strict guardrails: network containment, read-only accounts, API-mediated data exchange, and an emergency isolation switch.
- Plan for ongoing control—vulnerability testing, incident-response playbooks, and clear ownership—to prevent the model from acting beyond its intended scope.

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