Securing Industrial Operations: Kron PAM’s Next-Generation Solutions for OT and ICS

The Changing Face of Industrial Cybersecurity

Operational Technology (OT) and Industrial Control Systems (ICS) form the backbone of critical infrastructure — powering utilities, manufacturing plants, energy grids, and transportation networks. As digital transformation accelerates, the once-isolated industrial systems are increasingly connected to IT networks, opening doors to both efficiency gains and new security challenges.

According to KuppingerCole’s 2025 Leadership Compass on Secure Remote Access for OT/ICS, the market is shifting rapidly from niche solutions to a core pillar of industrial cybersecurity. Secure Remote Access (SRA) has become essential for enabling real-time diagnostics, remote maintenance, and vendor collaboration — all while protecting systems never designed for exposure to modern cyber threats.

The Challenge: Secure Access in Legacy Environments

Many OT systems rely on legacy protocols like Modbus, DNP3, or Telnet, which were not built with authentication, encryption, or monitoring capabilities. Allowing remote access without dedicated controls introduces unacceptable risks — especially when external contractors or equipment vendors are involved.

A true OT security strategy requires:

• Granular access control to limit who connects, when, and how.
• Protocol isolation to prevent lateral movement.
• Continuous monitoring and session recording for full auditability.
• Failover resilience for environments that can’t tolerate downtime.

This is exactly where Kron PAM stands out with its comprehensive solutions for OT/ICS.

Purpose-built for hybrid IT/OT environments, Kron PAM combines Privileged Access Management (PAM) with Secure Remote Access (SRA) to deliver unified visibility, control, and compliance. Its agentless architecture makes it ideal for industrial networks where installing software on endpoints isn’t possible or permitted.

Key Capabilities for OT and ICS Security

1. Agentless Access Across Industrial Protocols: Kron PAM supports a wide array of both IT and OT protocols — including SSH, RDP, VNC, HTTPS, SQL, Modbus, and DNP3 — through encrypted tunneling. This ensures secure, policy-driven access to even the most legacy systems without altering their configurations or requiring agents
2. Granular, Policy-Based Access Control: Through Policy-Based Access Control (PBAC), Kron PAM enforces precise access rules based on roles, schedules, IP ranges, and geolocation. Time-bound and just-in-time (JIT) access ensures that external vendors or engineers only connect when authorized — and only to the systems they need.
3. Adaptive Multifactor Authentication: Kron PAM introduces Adaptive MFA that reacts to user behavior, including typing patterns. It supports industry standards like FIDO2, RADIUS, and SAML, offering strong identity assurance across both IT and OT networks.
4. Advanced Monitoring and Behavioral Analytics: Every session in Kron PAM is fully recorded, logged, and indexed for forensic review. Machine Learning-driven User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) identifies anomalies such as privilege abuse, unusual login times, or risky command executions. Administrators can monitor sessions live, terminate access instantly, and export audit logs to SIEM or XDR systems for deeper analysis.
5. Built for Reliability and Compliance: Kron PAM supports active-active clustering, geographic redundancy, and automated failback, ensuring uninterrupted operations — a must-have for industries that cannot afford downtime. It also helps organizations meet IEC 62443, NERC CIP, ISO 27001, and NIS2 compliance mandates through detailed, audit-ready reporting.

Bridging the Gap: OT Security Meets Privileged Access Management

Kron PAM goes beyond simple remote access. By integrating its Privileged Session Manager (PSM) and Password Vault, organizations gain complete lifecycle control over credentials and privileged activity — from authentication to session recording.

This unified approach enables:

• Secure credential injection for passwordless sessions.
• Real-time session termination for high-risk actions.
• Forensic playback for incident response and audit readiness.

With these combined features, Kron PAM transforms secure access into a continuous security control — not just a connectivity layer.

Why Industrial Leaders Trust Kron

Analyst evaluations highlight Kron Technologies’ market leadership and strong customer adoption across the energy, manufacturing, and critical infrastructure sectors. Its multitenant architecture and modular design make it equally effective for enterprises, Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs), and global service organizations.

Key advantages include:

• Agentless deployment across diverse industrial environments.
• Protocol isolation without operational disruption.
• Scalability for global, distributed OT networks.
• Ease of integration with SIEM, SOAR, and IAM systems.

Conclusion: Enabling Secure Industrial Modernization

In the evolving landscape of connected industry, the security perimeter has moved from physical walls to digital boundaries. Protecting OT and ICS environments now demands identity-centric, policy-driven, and auditable remote access — all of which Kron PAM delivers with precision.

By bridging IT and OT security under a single, intelligent platform, Kron PAM empowers industrial organizations to operate securely, comply confidently, and modernize without compromise.

*Written by Beyza Nur Karakuş. She is a Product Owner at Kron.