SecurityWeek’s 2023 ICS Cybersecurity Conference kicks off on Tuesday at the InterContinental Hotel in Atlanta with informative presentations on a wide range of topics. 

The original and longest-running cybersecurity conference focusing on industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT) brings together ICS/OT users and vendors, security solutions providers, and government representatives. 

Conference participants are provided with access to valuable information, as well as the chance to engage in meaningful networking experiences.

Over the next three days, attendees can pick from more than 70 presentations, which follow an optional training day dedicated to workshops on threat detection, incident response, OT vulnerability management, and IT/OT convergence.

SecurityWeek is providing a live stream of the event for those who could not make it in person. 

The first day of presentations kicks off with a fireside chat where John Hultquist, chief analyst at Mandiant Intelligence, talks to Ryan Naraine, editor-at-large at SecurityWeek, about the global threat landscape and the upsurge in threat actor activity, with a focus on nation-state adversaries that put critical infrastructure systems at risk.

Next on the main stage, Robert Albach, director of product management at Palo Alto Networks, will talk about IT-OT security convergence, focusing on aligning IT-OT missions and establishing collaborative teams, board-level prioritization and role clarity, and streamlined processes merging security controls, procedures, and zero trust for threat response. 

Later in the morning, Blake Gilson, industrial cybersecurity ops manager at ExxonMobil, and Bradley Nash, IIT perimeter security supervisor at ExxonMobil, will highlight the importance of securing external network connections and outline the critical measures required to safeguard ICS networks.

In the second panel of the day, Greg Maciel of Fortinet, Mike Spear of Honeywell Connected Cyber & Industrials, and Travis Cornett of Toyota Material Handling will explore security considerations for developing cyber resilience, covering security fundamentals and readiness planning to protect IT and OT environments. 

Just before the lunch break, Jon ‘McFly’ McEllroy, retired US Naval Officer and current lead of the offensive/defensive team in MTSI’s Weapon Systems Cybersecurity (WSC) group, offers his unique perspective, historical trends, and common themes found through pentesting weapon systems.

Benjamin Stirling, global director of ICS cybersecurity at ABS Group, will share thoughts on enumerating ICS environments using an interesting approach — an intruder’s approach. 

Also on the first day, Michael Mulcare, principal project manager of smart infrastructure at Mott MacDonald, will talk about disaster recovery planning for critical infrastructure, focusing on the technologies, methods and policies that can help water treatment facilities recover from a cyberattack.  

Cybersecurity product and services providers will demo their offerings in the exhibit hall and will share vendor-agnostic knowledge and insights on stage.