Operational Technology (OT) primarily interacts with which environment?

The primary interaction of Operational Technology (OT) is with physical environments. OT encompasses hardware and software that detects or causes changes through direct monitoring and control of physical devices, processes, and events. This includes systems used in manufacturing, utilities, transport, and other sectors that operate in the physical world. The main goal of OT is to manage and optimize physical processes, ensuring they operate efficiently and safely.

In contrast, the other options focus on environments that do not directly involve the physical manipulation or evaluation of tangible objects. Virtual simulations pertain to software-based environments that model real-world processes but do not interact directly with the physical world. Digital networks relate to the pathways used for communication and data transfer but do not directly deal with the physical processes managed by OT. Cloud storage pertains to the storage of data over the internet but does not encompass the physical component of operational tasks. Therefore, recognizing that OT's focus is fundamentally on managing real-world processes helps clarify why the correct answer is linked to physical environments.