Podcast: Industrial Cybersecurity Insider
Episode: Two Major Cybersecurity Shifts the Industry Isn't Prepared For with Simon Chassar
Pub date: 2026-03-24

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Dino Busalachi sits down with Simon Chassar, former Chief Revenue Officer at Claroty and current OT cybersecurity advisor and investor, to explore the evolution and future of industrial cybersecurity.

Simon shares insights from his decade-long journey in the space, discussing how OT asset visibility has become commoditized and why the industry is experiencing two major shifts: moving right toward threat-led SOC services and perimeter protection, and moving left toward secure-by-design approaches and attack simulation.

They dive into the persistent challenge of self-performing versus partnering with specialized integrators, the critical skills shortage commanding 30-40% salary premiums, and why AI is both accelerating security challenges and offering new solutions.

Simon reveals how private equity firms are finally prioritizing OT cybersecurity at the board level, discusses the emerging OT SOC landscape, and explains why the traditional IT security budget model is failing operational technology environments.

The conversation addresses the disconnect between IT leadership and the OT ecosystem, the proliferation of unmanaged remote access technologies, and the urgent need for manufacturers to engage their trusted system integrators and OEMs as cybersecurity partners before the next major incident occurs.

Chapters:

(00:00:00) - Meet Simon : From Claroty's Hypergrowth to OT Security's Next Chapter
(00:02:00) - The Commoditization of OT Asset Visibility
(00:04:00) - Two Major Industry Shifts: Right and Left
(00:07:00) - The Self-Performing Problem: Why OT Security Becomes Shelfware
(00:10:00) - IT/OT Convergence and the Skills Gap Crisis
(00:13:00) - Secure by Design and the AI Leapfrog
(00:15:00) - AI Uncovers Hidden OT Vulnerabilities and Risks
(00:18:00) - Funding Models and Private Equity's Cybersecurity Awakening
(00:22:00) - Why the OT Ecosystem Must Drive Its Own Security Strategy
(00:25:00) - M&A Activity and Consolidation in OT Cybersecurity
(00:27:00) - The Rise of OT SOCs and MSP Partnerships

Links And Resources:

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Industrial Cybersecurity Insider on LinkedIn
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Dino Busalachi on LinkedIn
Craig Duckworth on LinkedIn

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