Meet the sponsors: Elisa Oyj

For decades, the name Elisa has been synonymous with telecommunications and mobile networks in Finland. In a B2B context, Elisa is known as a network operator and cybersecurity service provider. The company serves more than 2.8 million consumers and corporate customers in Finland and Estonia, and offers digital services globally.

From back-office concern to boardroom priority

Elisa’s Cyber Security Center, a security operations center with its 200+ strong team, offers round-the-clock cybersecurity monitoring services for its customers primarily in the IT sector, and increasingly in the OT field as well. The unit has been in operation since 2015, though Elisa, a pioneer in telecommunications, has cybersecurity expertise stretching back to 1995. As part of Finland’s national emergency supply infrastructure, Elisa has an in-depth, integrated understanding of critical and emergency supply operation.

”Over the past decade, cybersecurity has grown from a niche concern into one of the key drivers of operational continuity. This development has been greatly accelerated by regulatory steps such as GDPR, NIS2 and CRA, and by the current geopolitical climate,” says Karo Vallittu, Principal OT Security Lead. ”Within the past five years, industries have woken up to the fact that the same threats that impact IT also have to be accounted for in the OT world. Organisations linked to critical infrastructure have been forced to address these issues, while many other industries are only just beginning that work. NIS2 and the prospect of sanctions make it imperative for all OT sectors to tackle this issue.”

Bridging IT and OT

In the field of cybersecurity, Elisa has long provided 24/7 cybersecurity monitoring, incident response and recovery, as well as consultation on how to manage and operate cybersecurity effectively for IT environments. Since manufacturing and critical infrastructure make up a significant part of Elisa’s client base, Elisa has combined a team of cybersecurity specialists and process automation experts to address OT-specific challenges and bring cybersecurity monitoring into industrial automation environments.

A typical customer journey starts with an organisation that already has Elisa’s cybersecurity service for its IT and wants to extend it to cover OT operations as well. ”We begin with a risk analysis and threat modelling to identify the areas that need the most attention and that would deliver the most value. From there, we build an OT program that moves the customer towards a secure environment. This entails network planning, threat modelling, and establishing a security framework from a management perspective. The end goal is to strengthen visibility and the ability to respond to threats, and bring OT systems into the scope of cybersecurity monitoring,” explains Karo Vallittu.

Safety and security go hand in hand

Because OT systems have a significantly longer lifespan than their IT counterparts, and because any interruption to production must be avoided, OT cybersecurity is most often constructed incrementally over the course of a system’s lifecycle. Updates can't be done as often or as quickly as in the IT world, and the critical nature of these systems means the stakes are considerably higher.

"In OT, safety carries far greater weight. Beyond material risks and production delays, failures in cyber-physical systems can additionally put human lives at risk. OT systems are also far more individually tailored than IT systems – an understanding of IT alone isn't enough."

Looking ahead, Karo Vallittu sees all industries having to grapple with OT cybersecurity, driven by both business risk and regulation. One area that still flies largely under the radar is supply chain security. As the focus on emergency supply and business continuity intensifies, cybersecurity across supply chains will inevitably move up the agenda.

Elisa returns to the summit in 2027

Elisa attended the OT Cyber Security Summit Finland 2026 as a Summit Prime partner and decided to return in 2027. ”We were very happy with the event in 2026, especially given that it was the first time it had been held. We were pleased to see visitors queuing at our stand to see the Elisa demo,” says Karo Vallittu. ”Next year, we’re looking forward to meeting and networking with even more attendees.” 

Karo Vallittu, Principal OT Security Lead at Elisa Oyj

Karo Vallittu has over 20 years of experience in cybersecurity. His career has criss-crossed between marine and IT, from the Finnish Navy and Rolls Royce’s marine industry to Nixu and Elisa which he joined in 2022 to head up the OT unit within the Cyber Security Center. Always looking to broaden his horizons, Karo is currently studying law.

Elisa

Elisa is a Finnish, internationally operating telecommunications, technology and cybersecurity company. With over 140 years of experience, we offer sustainable solutions for more than 2.8 million consumer, corporate and public administration customers in our core markets of Finland and Estonia, and software services globally. In 2025, revenue was EUR 2.3 billion. Elisa employs over 6,200 professionals in 35 countries. Elisa Corporation shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. 

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