Industrial Firms Overestimate Remote Access Security: New Global Report Findings
The recent report titled "The State of Industrial Remote Access 2026" has unveiled a troubling trend in the industrial sector: many companies are overestimating their safety measures regarding remote access. While manufacturers globally are stepping into 2026 with a heightened sense of security confidence, findings from Secomea's commissioned study reveal a disconcerting gap between perceived and actual cybersecurity practices.
According to the report, which surveyed 400 leaders in manufacturing and critical infrastructure, most companies ranked their session visibility and compliance readiness as "good." However, a deeper dive highlights significant deficiencies in areas like supplier oversight, credential hygiene, and overall verifiability. This indicates a growing trend of a "trust-proof gap" in industrial cybersecurity where the escalation of trust in compliance doesn’t equate to real transparency in vendor sessions.
Key Takeaways:
1. Supplier Access as a Risk Multiplier: The report identifies supplier access as the primary risk multiplier; as supplier ecosystems expand, so does the likelihood of incurring incidents. Companies managing between 21 to 100 external suppliers report the highest risk levels, indicating that the risk is not solely determined by supplier behavior but by how organizations manage and structure supplier access.
2. Partial Supplier Transparency: Alarmingly, only 43% of companies claim to maintain complete audit trails of supplier sessions. The majority operate under limited visibility, leading to compliance and forensic vulnerabilities. This lack of transparency is correlated with an increased risk of incident exposure.
3. Zero Trust Implementation Produces Results: The report finds a clear relationship between the depth of Zero Trust implementations and enhanced session visibility, better supplier verificability, quicker activation speeds, and reduced volatility of incidents. Organizations that embrace all five core principles of Zero Trust achieve levels of transparency unattainable through tools alone.
4. Governance and IT/OT Alignment: Nearly 70% of companies work with shared IT/OT governance models—this framework is often linked with balanced security, operational speed, and verifiability. However, a lack of coordination triples the risk of supplier-related incidents.
5. Tool Fragmentation Undermines Control: Many companies utilize multiple concurrent access tools—such as VPNs, OEM utilities, and other solutions—which directly decreases session visibility. Organizations that employ three or more remote access tools report diminished transparency and increased friction compared to those utilizing consolidated environments.
6. Acceleration Towards Consolidated Models: The data suggests a market shift towards identity-centric, unified OT remote access platforms. Firms employing these specialized platforms experience higher average session visibility, stronger complete audit trail rates, and reduced incident burdens.
7. Strategic Transition in Remote Access Operations: The landscape of remote access is shifting from a convenience tool to a strategic control interface for industrial operations. Due to growing regulatory pressures and the expansion of supplier ecosystems, the industry is converging towards models of federal supplier controls and shared IT/OT governance, focused on identity-based enforcement, time-bound session permissions, and unified auditabilitiy.
In conclusion, this report illustrates a transition from a fragmented, reactive access strategy towards standardized, secure, policy-driven remote operations. With Secomea, a leading Secure Remote Access (SRA) solution provider, over 8,000 clients worldwide trust their robust solutions to manage secure access to machines while enhancing their cybersecurity posture. As companies embrace these findings, they can build a safer and more compliant operational landscape.
According to the report, which surveyed 400 leaders in manufacturing and critical infrastructure, most companies ranked their session visibility and compliance readiness as "good." However, a deeper dive highlights significant deficiencies in areas like supplier oversight, credential hygiene, and overall verifiability. This indicates a growing trend of a "trust-proof gap" in industrial cybersecurity where the escalation of trust in compliance doesn’t equate to real transparency in vendor sessions.
Key Takeaways:
1. Supplier Access as a Risk Multiplier: The report identifies supplier access as the primary risk multiplier; as supplier ecosystems expand, so does the likelihood of incurring incidents. Companies managing between 21 to 100 external suppliers report the highest risk levels, indicating that the risk is not solely determined by supplier behavior but by how organizations manage and structure supplier access.
2. Partial Supplier Transparency: Alarmingly, only 43% of companies claim to maintain complete audit trails of supplier sessions. The majority operate under limited visibility, leading to compliance and forensic vulnerabilities. This lack of transparency is correlated with an increased risk of incident exposure.
3. Zero Trust Implementation Produces Results: The report finds a clear relationship between the depth of Zero Trust implementations and enhanced session visibility, better supplier verificability, quicker activation speeds, and reduced volatility of incidents. Organizations that embrace all five core principles of Zero Trust achieve levels of transparency unattainable through tools alone.
4. Governance and IT/OT Alignment: Nearly 70% of companies work with shared IT/OT governance models—this framework is often linked with balanced security, operational speed, and verifiability. However, a lack of coordination triples the risk of supplier-related incidents.
5. Tool Fragmentation Undermines Control: Many companies utilize multiple concurrent access tools—such as VPNs, OEM utilities, and other solutions—which directly decreases session visibility. Organizations that employ three or more remote access tools report diminished transparency and increased friction compared to those utilizing consolidated environments.
6. Acceleration Towards Consolidated Models: The data suggests a market shift towards identity-centric, unified OT remote access platforms. Firms employing these specialized platforms experience higher average session visibility, stronger complete audit trail rates, and reduced incident burdens.
7. Strategic Transition in Remote Access Operations: The landscape of remote access is shifting from a convenience tool to a strategic control interface for industrial operations. Due to growing regulatory pressures and the expansion of supplier ecosystems, the industry is converging towards models of federal supplier controls and shared IT/OT governance, focused on identity-based enforcement, time-bound session permissions, and unified auditabilitiy.
In conclusion, this report illustrates a transition from a fragmented, reactive access strategy towards standardized, secure, policy-driven remote operations. With Secomea, a leading Secure Remote Access (SRA) solution provider, over 8,000 clients worldwide trust their robust solutions to manage secure access to machines while enhancing their cybersecurity posture. As companies embrace these findings, they can build a safer and more compliant operational landscape.
Topics Business Technology）
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