Michael talks to Rick Peters, CISO Operational Technology, Fortinet
By Michael Morris, Director of Global Business Development, Endace
Increasingly, the security of Operational Technology (OT) – Industrial Control Systems and SCADA – is a major focus of concern. These systems are used in many environments across industries such as manufacturing, transportation, energy, critical infrastructure and many more, and are a juicy target for both sophisticated, nation-state attackers and cybercriminals.
In this episode of the Endace Packet Forensic files I talk with Rick Peters, CISO Operational Technology at Fortinet. With a long career in engineering and almost four decades in US Intelligence before taking on his role at Fortinet, Rick knows intimately how attackers can target OT systems and has spent many years helping to defend OT systems from cyber attackers.
Rick talks about the importance of being able to trust in OT environments: in their ability to continue to provide safe and continuous business, and how we can bring some of the discipline that has been developed in IT cyberdefense into the OT environment. He outlines the importance of “consequence-driven strategy” – a deep understanding of the risks and vulnerabilities that a given system presents, coupled with a thorough assessment of the consequences of a successful compromise. As well as the importance of having a well-planned, and tested, response plan that addresses both IT and OT systems.
Rick has some great advice for cybersecurity leaders about where to start building a robust OT security posture and the importance of having IT security and OT security working in parallel. You won’t want to miss this episode!
Other episodes in the Secure Networks video/audio podcast series are available here.