Don C. Weber is a visionary cybersecurity leader who helps defenders safely prove security where it matters most in industrial operations. He is a SANS Principal Instructor, Founder of Cutaway Security, co-author of SANS ICS613: ICS/OT Penetration Testing & Assessments, and he also teaches SANS ICS410: ICS/SCADA Security Essentials to SANS student around the world. He brings years of field work into creating step-by-step labs and planning methods teams can use right away.
Don’s career path runs from hands-on operations to enterprise leadership in cybersecurity management, incident response, vulnerability management, and assessments across energy, manufacturing, and the public sector. His experience shapes how he teaches ICS410, grounding core security concepts in engineering workflows, safety, and uptime to bridge the gap between IT and OT, ensuring teams know how to apply these concepts as a part of their IT/OT convergence. Real-world expertise also guides his instruction in ICS613, where he shows how to scope and plan safer tests, select techniques that fit the process, gather evidence without disruption, and turn results into fixes teams trust.
A longtime contributor to the cybersecurity and ICS/OT community, Don creates and shares many cybersecurity tools and techniques. He shares his custom assessment and data processing tools—including the CHAPS (Configuration Hardening Assessment PowerShell Script) for configuration collection on isolated Windows servers and workstations—as open-source projects on the Cutaway Security GitHub. Don has presented his research and experiences at SANS ICS Summit, Black Hat, DEF CON, S4, NRECA, AFCEA TechNet, B-Sides, and other industrial conferences on topics ranging from smart-meter security to practical ICS testing workflows. He also participates in ASTM F24 and ISA/IEC 62443 working groups that help align safety and cybersecurity requirements. Don is a faculty member of the SANS Technology Institute, which has been designated an NSA Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense and is multi-year winner of the National Cyber League competition.
Don is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, and brings a mission-first calm to the classroom, focusing on outcomes students can put to work immediately. He emphasizes safe, purpose-built testing, precise communication with engineers and operators, and improvements that respect safety and uptime. Whether students work in energy, manufacturing, water, government, or the public sector, they leave with repeatable ways to scope and execute assessments, choose techniques that fit the process, and turn findings into tactics and techniques teams trust. At the heart of his work is a simple aim: help practitioners protect essential services and the communities that rely on them.
Qualifications Summary
SANS Principal Instructor
Principal Consultant and Founder, Cutaway Security, LLC.
20+ years of experience across cybersecurity management, assessments, incident response, vulnerability management, and OT security for energy, manufacturing, and public-sector environments
Created open-source tools and methods including CHAPS (Configuration Hardening Assessment PowerShell Script)
Standards participation: ASTM F24 and ISA/IEC 62443 (ISA-99) working groups
Education: Master of Science, Network Security, Capitol College; Bachelor of Science, Computer Science & Mathematics, Texas A&M–Corpus Christi
Certifications: Global Industrial Cybersecurity Professional (GICSP), GIAC Strategic Planning, Policy, and Leadership (GSTRT), GIAC Penetration Tester (GPEN), GIAC Cloud Security Essentials (GCLD), and ISA/IEC 62443 Certified Expert
U.S. Marine Corps veteran (Sergeant, First Force Reconnaissance Company; Fox Co., 2/5)
Presenter at industry conferences including SANS ICS Security Summit, DEF CON, Black Hat, S4, NRECA, OWASP, B-Sides, AFCEA TechNet, and others
Co-host, Simply ICS Cyber podcast and guest speaker on multiple industrial cybersecurity podcasts
The instructor, Don, was great. He communicated well and elaborated on the objectives.
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Don is a great instructor and does a fantastic job of leveraging his experiences and backgrounds to extend the course materials. He also ensures that students are getting the concepts to get the most out of the training.
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[Don] is very knowledgeable in the field, he's very interactive with the class, and he encourages interaction.
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Upcoming Training Courses
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Essentials - ICS410 - Industrial Control Systems Security
