Course · NCOSP

NSD Certified OT Security Professional

Defend the control systems that run power, pipelines, metros and plants, on a physical cyber range.

A course by the Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Initiative, an ISAC Foundation centre.

Length
5 days
When
Five days, morning and afternoon modules
Format
Classroom modules with hands-on labs, ending on a physical cyber range
Certification
NSD certification as an OT Security Professional, recorded on the National Security Database
Before you start
Linux and command-line basics, some scripting, networking (OSI, TCP/IP) and security fundamentals; Wireshark, TShark or tcpdump recommended

About the course

A five-day, hands-on certification in operational technology (OT) security. Participants learn how industrial control systems and SCADA networks work, how they are attacked and how to defend them, against the standards critical sectors use, and finish with a red-team exercise on a physical cyber range with real industrial controllers.

What you become

An NSD-certified OT security professional, ready for OT security roles in power, oil and gas, transport, water, manufacturing and the global capability centres that secure them.

Who it is for

  • Engineering and computing students
  • Cyber security professionals moving into OT
  • SOC analysts and security engineers
  • Plant, control and instrumentation engineers
  • Security teams in power, oil and gas, transport, water and manufacturing

Curriculum

  1. Day 1 · ICS/SCADA network defence

    IT and ICS security models, risk and policy

    The IT and ICS/SCADA security models, security posture, risk management and risk assessment in ICS, types of risk, and security policy.

  2. Day 1 · TCP/IP and ICS protocols

    How industrial networks are layered

    TCP/IP architecture and layering, the components of TCP/IP networks, and the protocols industrial control systems use.

  3. Day 2 · How ICS is targeted

    Attack methods and real attacks

    The attack process from reconnaissance to exploitation, why ICS/SCADA are high-value targets, attack methods used against industrial networks, and studies of real attacks.

  4. Day 2 · Vulnerability management

    Advisories, CVE, CVSS and OVAL

    Interpreting advisories, CVE and ICS vulnerability sources, the life cycle of a vulnerability, zero-days, scanners, what makes ICS vulnerabilities different, and how to prioritise them.

  5. Day 3 · Standards and regulations

    IEC 62443, NIST SP 800-82, ISA99, NERC CIP, ISO 27001

    The standards and regulations that govern industrial cyber security, including IEC 62443, NIST SP 800-82, ISA99, NERC CIP, CFATS and ISO 27001.

  6. Day 3 · Securing the ICS network

    Controls, monitoring and legacy machines

    Physical security, policy, securing ICS protocols, vulnerability assessment, choosing controls to reduce risk, monitoring, and protecting legacy machines.

  7. Day 4 · Bridging the air gap

    Guards, data diodes, next-generation firewalls

    When and how to connect industrial networks, with the advantages and risks of guards, data diodes and next-generation firewalls.

  8. Day 4 · Intrusion detection

    What network and host IDS can and cannot see

    Types of intrusion detection, their strengths and limits in industrial networks, and detecting intrusions.

  9. Day 5 · Red teaming on a physical range

    Attack surface, attack, lateral movement, defence

    Hands-on red teaming for ICS/SCADA on a physical cyber range with real controllers: mapping the attack surface, simulating an attack, lateral movement and post-exploitation, then defending the plant.

What is included

  • Five days of classroom modules and hands-on labs
  • A full day on a physical cyber range with real PLCs, SCADA and HMIs
  • The NSD examination and your record on the National Security Database

Enrol

Send an enquiry to the Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Initiative from this page.