This course presents the fundamentals of industrial control systems (ICS) and operational technology (OT) to cybersecurity professionals. Students receive hands-on experience with PLCs, SCADA, sensors/transmitters, calibrators, piping and instrumentation diagrams, and more – helping students understand not just how industrial control systems work, but how OT professionals view the world. Presented against a light backdrop of cybersecurity, it is an ideal course for security analysts, intelligence analysts, cybersecurity managers, and IT professionals.

Learning objectives:

• Describe the basic history of industrial automation
• Describe basic control theory
• Identify common industrial processes
• Identify various components of industrial control systems
• Identify various types of I/O
• Recognize various operating principles for industrial sensors
• Identify various industrial lifecycles
• Identify the roles and responsibilities of industrial environments
• Recognize the application of cybersecurity concepts to OT systems

Hands on activities:

• Wire a PLC
• Interface with PLC programming software
• Program a PLC using ladder logic
• Calibrate a transmitter
• Describe control variable types
• Create SCADA diagram
• Create a control loop
• Tour an industrial facility