More than fifty percent of organizations reported experiencing at least one security incident with industrial control systems and operational technologies (ICS/OT), according to a 2025 cybersecurity budget report.

ICS/OT are systems and machines that help industries like power plants and factories run automatically. They control things like electricity, water, and manufacturing processes to ensure they run safely.

The report highlights how insufficient funding, mismatched goals, and broken security are leaving those systems to increasing threats.

While 55% percent of organizations reported increased ICS/OT cybersecurity budgets over the past two years, much of the investment is still rather focused towards technology.

According to the report, this imbalance creates new ICS/OT vulnerabilities that attackers exploit at an alarming rate. Among the top were internet accessible devices (33%), and transient devices (27%). They are devices that can connect to the internet or USB drives plugged into systems, often used to bypass traditional defenses.

Despite prioritizing OT cybersecurity, only 27% of organizations let CISOs or CSOs manage the budget. They’re the leaders in a company who make sure systems data and operations stay safe from security risks.

Findings show how this exposes the infrastructure to evolving threats; a small percentage of organizations reported budgets of less than $10,000. This suggests that smaller entities or those less aware of cyber threats may face challenges in adequately funding cybersecurity measures.

Twenty-one percent of firms on one hand reported allocating budgets between $10,001 and $100,000, and 37% exceeded $100,000—figures more common in larger, mature organizations or high-risk sectors.

Small facilities, especially those outside major critical infrastructure sectors, remain potential targets. Adversaries may exploit these facilities as test environments to refine attack methods before targeting larger operations.

On the other hand, 34% of respondents were unsure about their organization’s overall security budget allocations. This highlighted potential gaps in budgeting practices that may further impact infrastructure security.

The report also found that IT breaches caused 58% of ICS/OT incidents, highlighting the need for stronger security that protects both IT and OT systems.

The findings urge organizations to budget properly for ICS/OT security, protect devices from cross-domain attacks, and have cybersecurity leaders manage spending to match security needs.