A Case Study: Exploring Potential Attack Methods and Sophisticated Security Defenses for the World\\'s Power Plants

  • Friday, 24 Mar 2017 3:00PM EDT (24 Mar 2017 19:00 UTC)
  • Speaker: Patrick McBride

As a fundamental critical infrastructure component, electric utilities are a distinct target for threat actors. The increasing interconnectivity between automation control systems and IT networks across power generation, transmission and distribution introduces a growing attack surface within the electric utilities ecosystem and introduces a security imperative upon the industry's key stakeholders worldwide.

Power generation plants are a major part of the electric utilities ecosystem, and while they vary greatly from each other, in terms of fuel, size and age, all of them utilize OT networks to govern the critical processes that they manage.

This case study will examine potential attack pathways for adversaries targeting power generation plants. It will look at areas to avoid and focus on real-world recommendations on best practices for driving increased security.