PD-14-7 Challenges of Cybersecurity Implementations for Process Control Systems

Description:

Ten years experience managing hundreds of control system firewalls yields some very pointed perspectives on what is essential to control system security. The difference between IT and OT is control - OT systems control the physical world and so can be physically dangerous. The "elephants in the room" - old equipment and limited use of encryption, plain-text communications and anti-virus systems - these elephants are not embarrassing aberrations; they are essential characteristics of modern control system security programs. Railing against these essentials is pointless and counter-productive, especially in the face of a constantly-evolving threat environment.