Operational technology in construction: A cybersecurity taxonomy

Construction projects are increasingly adopting operational technologies (OT), such as autonomous machinery, robotic manipulators, drones, and 3D concrete printers. While these technologies improve productivity, quality, and safety, they also expand the cyberattack surface of construction sites. Although many cybersecurity standards, frameworks, and guidelines have been developed, they have been used primarily in more technologically advanced sectors, such as manufacturing and energy. Since OT integration is relatively recent in the construction industry, identifying the relevant documents for a construction OT scenario requires understanding the construction process, the OT family, and the system components involved. To address this need and given the increasing number of available documents, this paper proposes a novel taxonomy that maps cybersecurity documents to OT used in construction. The taxonomy is structured as a two-dimensional table, with columns representing construction OT families and components, and rows representing construction processes involving OT. Each cell in the table contains the cybersecurity references for the OT–process combination. To populate the taxonomy, this paper proposes a human-in-the-loop workflow combining large language model (LLM)-assisted retrieval, quality control, deduplication, scoring, and manual review. The workflow is demonstrated for a single taxonomy cell (the communication component of robotic manipulators used in masonry and bricklaying), together with a parallel workflow for construction-specific cybersecurity references. By supporting secure OT-enabled construction, resilient digital infrastructure, and safer construction work environments, the proposed approach aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).