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# Segregation vs. Segmentation Evolving OT Security from Physical Segregation to Context-Aware Segmentation
- URL: https://www.cybrsecmedia.com/segregation-vs-segmentation-evolving-ot-security-from-physical-segregation-to-context-aware-segmentation/
- Published: 2026-04-14T12:39:01.000Z
- Updated: 2026-04-14T12:39:01.000Z
- Author: Lauren Andrus
- Tags: OT.SEC.CON. 2026, video, OT Security

**Presenters:**

- [Fazil Osman](https://www.linkedin.com/in/fazil-osman/?ref=cybrsecmedia.com)
- [Farshad Hendi](https://www.linkedin.com/in/farshadhendi/?ref=cybrsecmedia.com)

This session focuses on how defenders consistently underestimate how attackers actually operate in real environments — especially in OT and critical infrastructure. The result: defenses are built for theory, while attacks succeed in practice.

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## **Key takeaways**

- **Defenders design for ideal conditions**
  - Clean architectures
  - Proper segmentation
  - Fully implemented controls
  - Reality: none of that exists at scale
- **Attackers exploit the messy middle**
  - Misconfigurations
  - Workarounds and exceptions
  - Legacy systems glued together over time
  - The “temporary” fixes that became permanent
- **Security models don’t match operations**
  - Playbooks assume visibility and control that teams don’t actually have
  - Monitoring doesn’t reflect real workflows
  - Response plans break down under real-world constraints
- **The environment is the vulnerability**
  - It’s not just individual flaws
  - It’s how systems are interconnected and operated day to day
  - Risk lives in **the gaps between intended design and actual use**
- **You have to test reality, not assumptions**
  - Hands-on validation in real environments
  - Red/blue/purple teaming that reflects operational constraints
  - Continuous testing of how systems actually behave