Leveraging Tabletop exercises to Enhance OT security maturity

Has your organization tested its OT security incident response plan in the last 6 months? Do you remember when you last checked your institutional OT security awareness levels? Are your OT security programs running in compliance with IEC 62443? If your answer is no for any of the above questions, then this article is for you. Why do we need to conduct OT security tabletop exercises regularly? Tabletop exercises help security teams play out scenarios to test various components of an OT security program including elements of governance, compliance and incident response. Such tests can be conducted without the risk of downtime to test the effectiveness of various response mechanisms and the role of people and processes in it. Download our TTX template now: OT Security Tabletop Exercise. The scope of an OT security tabletop exercise should ideally cover: Objective and definition: Identify and set specific goals for the exercise, such as testing incident response plans, improving employee communication, testing a specific aspect of OT security approach or identifying gaps in security posture that may hinder a coherent response to an OT security incident or event. Realistic scenario development in tabletop exercises involves: Who should participate in an OT security tabletop exercise? Ideally, any team that is connected with OT directly or otherwise should participate in these exercises. A tentative list of participants includes: What roles and responsibilities can be assigned to the participants during a tabletop exercise? The role of each participant should be clearly defined as per the scenario being tested. Suggested roles include: Understand and learn how you can benefit from assigning specific roles and responsibilities using the help of IEC 62443 and NIST CSF: OT Security Roles and Responsibilities How can an incident flow be developed during a tabletop exercise Any simulated/unfolding event can be divided into various parts such as: The performance of each aspect of the exercise should be evaluated in detail at a step/response level. Download your copy of the Facility Incident Response Plan and Checklist now! Essential factors for a successful OT security tabletop exercise What are the benefits of a tabletop exercise? The following are some of the benefits that institutions and teams can gather: 1. Improved OT/ICS and IoT incident response 2. Better cross-functional collaboration 3. Increased awareness of OT security risks 4. An opportunity to test the relevance and applicability of security controls, incident playbooks and policies 5. Enhanced crisis planning and management 6. Continuous improvement 7. Reinforce cyber resilience measures Through OT security tabletop businesses can continually evolve their cybersecurity strategies to face emerging OT threats thereby safeguarding and enhancing operational continuity and resilience. Book a consultation with our ICS security experts now. Contact Us Thinking of an ICS security training program for your employees? Talk to us for a custom package.   

The post Leveraging Tabletop exercises to Enhance OT security maturity appeared first on Security Boulevard.