Tabletop Exercise for SCADA/ICS

1. Preparation and planning of the exercise

Analysis of needs and risks: At the beginning, we will perform an analysis of the organization's needs and an assessment of existing risks and vulnerabilities. This step involves understanding the specific SCADA/ICS environment, identifying critical components and possible attack scenarios.

Define exercise objectives: Together with the organization's leadership, we will define clear exercise objectives, which may include improving response capabilities, training staff, testing incident response plans or identifying weaknesses in existing procedures.

2. Development of exercise scenarios

Creation of realistic scenarios: Based on the risk analysis and exercise objectives, we will create realistic and relevant scenarios of cyber incidents. These scenarios may include simulations of ransomware attacks, phishing campaigns, insider threats or targeted attacks on SCADA/ICS systems.

We create tailor-made scenarios: Scenarios are tailored to the specific needs of the organization to ensure that the exercise is relevant and reflects the real threats and vulnerabilities that the organization may face.

3. Implementation of the Tabletop exercise

Interactive simulations: During the exercise, participants (incident response team, IT and OT teams, managers and other stakeholders) participate in simulated cyber incident scenarios. Teams must decide together on the best course of action, identify the correct responses and coordinate their tasks.

Expert guidance: Experienced facilitators lead the exercise, provide guidance and ask critical questions that encourage discussion and improve understanding of safety practices. They provide technical advice and feedback to the team's decision-making when needed.

4. Evaluation and analysis of the exercise

Documentation and feedback: After the exercise is completed, we collect data, document the steps taken during the exercise and provide feedback on what worked well and where gaps were identified.

Performance analysis: The performance of teams and individuals is evaluated, including reaction time, decision-making efficiency and ability to follow existing procedures. Based on these assessments, areas for improvement are identified.

5. Recommendations and implementation of improvements

Recommendations Report: We will produce a report containing findings and recommendations to improve existing cybersecurity and incident response plans. These recommendations may include suggestions for policy change, additional training, technical improvements, or new security measures.

Implementation of improvements: Together with the organization, a plan is created for the implementation of identified improvements and measures to increase the overall security level of SCADA/ICS systems.

Advantages of Tabletop exercises for SCADA/ICS systems

  • Increasing incident preparedness: Exercises improve an organization's ability to respond to cyber incidents in an efficient and coordinated manner, minimizing risks and reducing operational and security impacts.
  • Improving team collaboration: Exercises promote collaboration between different teams (IT, OT, management) and improve communication channels that are crucial during a real incident.
  • Identification of weaknesses: Using exercises, organizations can identify weaknesses in existing procedures, policies and technologies and then implement the necessary improvements.
  • Increased awareness of cyber threats: Participants gain a better understanding of current cyber threats and cyber security best practices, which contributes to an organization's overall security culture.
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