Until recently, IT and OT were siloed off and only saw each other in the halls or at the company holiday party. That’s no longer true. Because of the IIoT and other technology advances, they have to work together. Problem: They have different goals and agendas and different ways of working. How can management help bridge the divide?

• What information technology (IT) teams can learn from operational technology (OT) teams
• What operational technology (OT) teams can learn from information technology (IT) teams
• Getting IT/OT to work together
• Tips for effective IT/OT communication
• Where and when should system integration stop and why?

Cybersecurity is not optional in industrial manufacturing facilities anymore; it’s the norm. What strategies or methods can engineers use to make the process a consistent one so there aren’t lapses?

• What does hyperconvergence mean for manufacturers, and what impact will have it have on cybersecurity?
• Implementing a cybersecurity maturity model with your team
• Training your team on cybersecurity maturity
• Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) compliance challenges: what you need to know (split by manufacturing vs.
• system integrators)

Industrial cybersecurity is an ever-changing industry. As attacks from malicious actors mount, from SolarWinds to Verkada, it’s becoming increasingly important that professionals stay current so they can meet the threat head-on.

• Educating engineers about cybersecurity
• How to educate your engineers and technicians on cybersecurity concepts
• How to keep your engineers up to date on cybersecurity threats
• 5 common phishing attacks your engineers need to know about
• How older OT engineers can learn from younger OT engineers
• Password best practices

No industrial facility is alike and neither is the industrial network. Whether it’s a traditional network, a hybrid or something else altogether, the network needs to fit the company’s goals and plans.

• 5 Things you can do to protect your network against cyberattacks
• How to minimize damage from a network breach
• How to prevent IP theft
• What are microservices and how do you keep them secure
• Keeping applications on your networks secure
• Dealing with network gaps
• How to secure your endpoints

Each industrial manufacturing facility is unique, but there are some universal truths each one can follow to at least create a baseline for cybersecurity. After that, what can manufacturers do to help keep their facilities cybersecure? When to upgrade an aging device on your network

• How to identify vulnerable points on the plant floor
• When to upgrade an aging device on your network
• How to keep up with changing technologies
• How to stay secure with building automation and smart buildings/devices

Cybersecurity compliance can be complicated. Just keeping track of the various acronyms and controls is a full-time job, and requirements vary depending on the industry and governing body. But it’s essential to meet the various controls to protect the integrity of businesses and information.

• 5 ways to simplify NIST 800-171
• Keeping up to date on cybersecurity standards
• How to simplify cybersecurity standards to get them implemented quickly
• Beyond the law: What you need to do other than legal compliance to keep your facility secure
• Tips to getting your cybersecurity budget approved by management

The IIoT and cloud have changed manufacturing from what it was even 10 years ago. While these concepts can open manufacturing facilities to cyberattack, it’s a double-edged sword. How can they help improve manufacturing cybersecurity rather
than hinder it?

• The top 5 edge devices for your network
• Top cybersecurity tools for dealing with a cyberattack
• Maintaining network devices to ensure that your cloud stays secure

The incidence of cyberattacks faced by industrial manufacturing companies is 30 times larger than it was in 2012. For technology companies, it has risen by a factor of 20. How can companies protect themselves against this rising
threat?

RISK ASSESSMENT

• How to maintain and implement what you learn from a cybersecurity risk assessment
• Getting the most bang for the buck from your cybersecurity risk assessment
• The inside job: protecting against disgruntled employees
• Should you have a third party audit your cybersecurity systems & practices?

RANSOMEWARE ATTACKS

• How to lower risk of a ransomware attack in your organization
• Ransomware attacks: what you need to know
• Educating your employees on ransomware prevention
• Keeping Purdue model Level 1 & 2 devices safe from cyberattacks
• Lowering risk to PLCs and PACs
• Cybersecurity lessons learned for control systems (Including SCADA, HMI and other OT-based technologies)

CYBERSECURITY POLICIES

• How to create a cybersecurity policy that works best for your network
• What to do when your cybersecurity policy fails
• What to do if your customer data has been compromised
• Educating your team on what not to do
• What are the cybersecurity risks of removable media
• Does everyone know what to do when a cybersecurity breach is suspected or detected?
• Do you have a “sandbox” computer and do people know how to use it?

ENERGY SYSTEM CONCERNS

• Reducing cybersecurity risk in oil pipelines
• How to decrease cyberattack risk in electrical systems
• Power grid security: best practices for lowering risk

HACKERS

• Industrial espionage: lower risk of competitor data breaches
• 5 targets that hackers look for when attacking industrial facilities
• Keeping the IIoT safe from hackers
• Two-factor authentication and beyond: steps to lower network risk

MALWARE

• How to avoid malware in IIoT and edge devices
• What is fileless malware?
• How to lower virus risk in systems
• Trust, but verify: avoid self-hacking your system

MACHINE LEARNING & AI

• Attacks based on machine learning
• Artificial intelligence applied to anomaly detection

DATA/IP SECURITY

• How to minimize data leakage
• How to recover quickly from a data loss
• Minimizing data corruption
• How to reduce risk for critical data and documents
• How to identify the severity of a cyberthreat
• How blockchain can keep your data secure

PENETRATION TESTING

• How to conduct a thorough penetration test
• How do devices, systems, procedures and applications affect penetration testing?

REMOTE ACCESS

• How to lower network risk with remote workers
• Desktop sharing apps you should avoid
• Preventing remote takeover of your systems
• COVID-19 and cybersecurity

SOFTWARE VULNERABILITES

• Dealing with security loopholes in software
• Staying up to date with security patches
• How to identify zero day vulnerabilities
• What to do if software is no longer vendor supported