David Bacqué is the Director of Cybersecurity Consulting and Vice President of Strategic Development for RED Group, an Industrial Control Systems (ICS) technology development and integration firm specializing in Process Automation, IT/OT Consulting, and Industrial Cybersecurity. Dave is an experienced industrial cybersecurity and operational technology (OT) professional who has led, advised on, and delivered cybersecurity projects and initiatives with industrial clients around the world to help operators of critical infrastructure become more resilient to cyber threats. Dave has a B.S. in Information Systems and Decision Sciences from Louisiana State University and is a holder of the Global Industrial Cybersecurity Professional (GICSP) and Project Management Professional (PMP) certifications.

SCADA

• save time and lower operating costs by having crews respond to known issues via SCADA alarms vs routine site visits and finding unknown issues
• data at your fingertips for maintenance and preventive maintenance
• remote control options to solve issues without visiting the sites
• communication options: cellular, radio, hardwired, satellite.  Redundancy options as well.
• on premises servers vs hosted clous server: weigh the benefits for each based on your unique situation
• nonproprietary software: don’t get locked into a contract or a provider where they are the only company who can help you.  We use off the shelf solutions that work well in the space, and if you want to take over the responsibility of the system, or contract with another firm, you can.
• standardized parts at each site to reduce stock inventory, software types, and technical capability of maintenance staff

OT/ ICS Cybersecurity

• build out your security road map
  • remote access SCADA systems and industrial controls in the field need to be secured from outside sources trying to gain access (threats)
  • asset inventory: what technologies do you have, what software are they using, what communication protocols do they use, etc.
  • risk assessment: identify all risks with current and new technologies to be used
  • remediation plan: you’ve found a vulnerability, now what do you do?  You need a written plan in place
  • incident response plan: what will you do if hackers hold your system hostage for ransom?
  • user permission can be granted at different levels: maintenance, engineer, operator, manager, etc. each with their own unique set of permissions and login credentials
• design the architecture for best practice: secure VPN tunnels utilizing best protocols, dedicated cellular or radio plans, multi factor authentication, etc.
• tools in place to constantly scan your systems for vulnerabilities and breaches