How to secure OT environments after Windows 10 end of support without disrupting production

Many operational technology (OT) environments depend on Windows 10 systems. In October 2025, Microsoft ended support for Windows 10. That doesn’t mean manufacturers have to immediately replace their systems, but it does change the risk profile related to unsupported operating systems.

In OT environments, operating systems commonly reach end of support long before the industrial assets they control. At present, many human-machine interfaces (HMIs), engineering workstations, SCADA servers and production databases run on OEM-certified configurations validated only for Windows 10.

Moving quickly to Windows 11 is often not realistic. Upgrading OT systems can require replacing certified industrial hardware, revalidating OEM software and, in regulated industries, potentially recertifying systems. All of that introduces operational risk, significant cost and downtime. At the same time, doing nothing increases exposure to cyberthreats. Unsupported operating systems no longer receive security updates, increasing the risk of loss of visibility or control — conditions that may qualify as material incidents under regulations such as NIS 2 and NERC CIP.

OT teams therefore need a practical path forward that reduces risk without forcing unsafe changes.

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Protecting OT systems after Windows 10 end of support

OT teams often find themselves caught between corporate security mandates that require updates and production realities that require maximum uptime. When manufacturers don’t have dedicated OT-specific security and recovery controls, common challenges emerge quickly:

Unsupported Windows 10 systems risk exposure. While extended security updates (ESUs) and Windows 10 IoT LTSC can extend timelines, many systems remain hardware-bound or validated in specific configuration. Patching or upgrading is not always straightforward.

Inconsistent ransomware prevention. Ransomware increasingly moves from IT into OT-adjacent systems. It often targets Windows-based OT systems such as HMIs and engineering stations, where downtime pressure is highest. Traditional antivirus tools often fail in OT settings where detection is uneven and runtime execution control is limited. Legacy systems can be vulnerable to unauthorized execution and ransomware attacks.

Air-gapped sites are difficult to secure and recover. Many OT environments are fully or partially air gapped. Centralized IT recovery and cloud-dependent security tools simply do not work when plants must operate offline.

Recovery is slow and disruptive. When an HMI or engineering workstation fails, recovery often depends on manual rebuilds, outdated images or unverified backups. A single failure can cause line stoppage and hours of downtime. Recovery times can stretch from 3–5 hours or longer.

OT teams remain dependent on central IT and vendors: Without standardized OT recovery procedures, local teams must wait for help from IT or OEM support. That increases downtime, tension and uncertainty across production operations.

The result is an environment where downtime is unpredictable and manufacturers migrate following timelines enforced by compliance rather than based on engineering readiness.

There are four paths forward for OT environments after Windows 10 end of support: Stay on Windows 10 and purchase ESUs.

• Use Windows 10 IoT LTSC where applicable.

• Plan migration to Windows 11 for new systems.

• Stay on Windows 10 and add compensating controls such as segmentation, allowlisting and reliable backup and recovery.

For many existing OT environments, the fourth option is the most realistic in the short to medium term. Acronis Cyber Protect for OT and ARIA AZT Protect provide a dual-layer strategy designed specifically for OT realities in the wake of the end of support for Windows 10: prevention plus recovery.

ARIA plays a critical role in protecting OT systems caught in the end of support for Windows 10. Deployed on HMIs, engineering workstations and on-site production servers, the ARIA solution provides active security enforcement for OT environments.

With ARIA, manufacturers can:

• Detect and block unauthorized executables.
• Prevent unauthorized behaviors at runtime.
• Reduce exposure to exploit-based attacks targeting legacy vulnerabilities.

Preventive controls in OT must not introduce unsafe changes or interfere with validated configurations. ARIA AZT Protect is built for OT environments. It requires no cloud connectivity, does not interfere with PLC communications and avoids unapproved OS changes that could break OEM-certified configurations.

All of that gives manufacturers post-end-of-life security coverage while maintaining operational stability and certification integrity.

But even the best prevention cannot eliminate all risk. OT resilience also depends on recovery. Acronis Cyber Protect for OT delivers full image-based backup and bare-metal restore capabilities for the systems manufacturers cannot afford to lose, including:

• HMIs.
• Engineering workstations.
• SCADA servers (physical or virtualized).
• SQL production databases.

This enables:

• Recovery of full systems to known-good states.

• Local restoration in air-gapped environments.

• Reduced dependency on central IT or external vendors during incidents.

With Acronis, recovery becomes predictable and fast. Typical HMI recovery time drops from 3–5 hours to under 10 minutes, and manufacturers can restore engineering stations within a single production shift.

Windows 10 is not the last OS that will reach end of support. Challenges related to legacy systems require two controls:

• Preventive controls (segmentation, allowlisting, runtime enforcement) help reduce cyber risk exposure.

• Recovery controls (immutable backups, tested restore procedures) reduce downtime impact.

Together, they support a strategy aligned with current OT compliance expectations, which prioritize availability, continuity and recovery without forcing unsafe modernization.

ARIA and Acronis solve two sides of the Windows 10 end-of-life challenge:

• ARIA AZT Protect prevents and contains threats at runtime.
• Acronis Cyber Protect for OT ensures fast operational recovery when incidents occur.

It reduces the need to choose between operating unsupported systems or undergoing disruptive unplanned migrations.

This combined approach enables manufacturers to:

• Reduce ransomware impact on OT-adjacent systems.
• Maintain production availability and safety.
• Preserve validated OEM configurations.
• Plan migration to Windows 11 based on engineering timelines rather than purely compliance deadlines.

Windows 10 end of support is not a one-time event, and it highlights a recurring lifecycle challenge in OT. Operating systems will continue to reach end of support long before industrial assets do.

The practical response is balance: Maintain strong defensive controls while ensuring that recovery is fast, local and predictable.

With Acronis Cyber Protect for OT and ARIA AZT Protect, manufacturers can secure Windows 10 and other unsupported systems, restore critical assets within minutes, and maintain production continuity without introducing operational risk.

Watch the virtual conference “Protecting OT systems after Windows 10 end of support” and learn how manufacturers can secure legacy OT systems while maintaining operational continuity.