SANS: Industrial Control System Resilience

All 16 critical infrastructure sectors, including energy, critical manufacturing, water, and wastewater management facilities, and even cookie factories can benefit from a strengthened cybersecurity defense in today’s Industrial Control System (ICS) cyber threat climate. Active cyber defense starts with knowing what you have in order to apply appropriate and prioritized protections.

Establishing a solid ICS asset inventory is essential to a resilient cyber defense program for ICS that drives proactive threat detection, streamlined incident response on the “plant floor,” and reduced mean time to recovery.

SANS Certified Instructor Dean Parsons and Hexagon PPM Vice President Nick Cappi explore methods of asset identification in control system environments, and highlight a prioritized approach for ICS vulnerability management, focusing on consequences and rapid recovery for cyber defense programs across all industrial sectors.

What you will learn:

• The main methods for ICS asset identification
• The value of baselining a “known good” asset configuration
• Prioritizing vulnerability management for ICS security and lifecycle upgrades
• How ICS incident response forensic analysis reduces system recovery efforts
• How the Active Cyber Defense Cycle is a minimum in ICS Defense
• Value of a focused and regularly updated recovery plan

Register to watch and be sure to download the associated whitepaper written by Dean Parsons.

PRESENTERS

Dean Parsons
Certified Instructor
SANS Institute

Dean brings over 20 years of technical and management experience to the classroom. He has worked in both Information Technology and Industrial Control System (ICS) Cyber Defense in critical infrastructure sectors such as telecommunications, and electricity generation, transmission, distribution, and oil & gas refineries, storage, and distribution. Dean is an ambassador for defending industrial systems and an advocate for the safety, reliability, and cyber protection of critical infrastructure. His mission as an instructor is to empower each of his students, and he earnestly preaches that “Defense is Do-able!” Over the course of his career, Dean’s accomplishments include establishing entire ICS security programs for critical infrastructure sectors, successfully containing and eradicating malware and ransomware infections in electricity generation and manufacturing control networks, performing malware analysis triage and ICS digital forensics, building converged IT/OT incident response and threat hunt teams, and conducting ICS assessments in electric substations, oil and gas refineries, manufacturing, and telecommunications networks. A SANS Certified Instructor, Dean teaches ICS515: ICS Visibility, Detection, and Response and is a co-author of the new SANS Course ICS418: ICS Security Essentials for Managers. Dean is a member of the SANS GIAC Advisory Board and holds many cybersecurity professional certifications including the GICSP, GRID, GSLC, and GCIA, as well as the CISSP®. He is a proud native of Newfoundland and holds a BS in computer science from Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Nick Cappi
Vice President, Portfolio Strategy and Enablement Cyber
Hexagon

Nick Cappi joined PAS in 1995. As Vice President of Portfolio Strategy and Enablement for Cyber, Nick oversees commercial success of the business, formulates and prioritizes the strategic themes, and works with product owners to set strategic product direction. During his tenure at PAS, Nick has held a variety of positions including Vice President of Product Management and Technical Support, Director of Technical Consulting, Director of Technology, Managing Director for Asia Pacific Region, and Director of Product Management. Nick brings over 26 year of industrial control system and cybersecurity experience within processing industries.