Atlantic Security Conference

IoT has moved beyond kettles, thermostats, and doorbells. Operational technologies (otherwise known as IIoT) like tractors, factories, healthcare devices, and even robots are helping to enable the fourth industrial revolution.

Companies that embrace these changes will lead the charge. Those that don’t will fall behind. These technologies lead to exciting new designs, leveraging the latest and greatest buzzword-laden offerings. Build on a clean slate, and you can drive strong security concepts into every layer of the system.

Unfortunately, these designs don’t get implemented in the real world. The real world of operational technology is messy. It’s dealing with years and years of technology decisions made with wildly different threat models. It’s trying to match technologies built with 20-year lifespans with defences that need to be updated minute-by-minute.

In this talk, we’ll examine the reality of operational technology deployments. How do we match modern cybersecurity practices with decades-old technologies and regulations? Can we?  You’ll come away with a better appreciation of the challenges involved in securing operational technologies.