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TRAINING DURACTION: 2 WEEKS

CERTIFICATION TEST: Knowledge based exam+ 90% SIMULATION + 10% LIVE LAB SIMULATION 

TEST DURATION: 12 HOURS OVER 2 DAYS

The OTSEC CYBER DEFENSE PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION (CDPC)  is an industry professional level course aligned with the CYBER DEFENSE CENTER OTSEC certifications’ progressive structure from Cyber Defense Associate to Expert. This training is crucial to develop the advanced knowledge and skills needed to protect critical infrastructure from sophisticated cyber threats. 

This certification course is intended for the following audiences:

1) Cyber Defense Associate Certification (CDAC); or

2) Professionals responsible for the security of ICS/OT environments with 2 years of experience within the energy sector (cyber security specialists, system operators, and engineers); and

3) Mission minded industry professionals seeking to refine, improve, and demonstrate advanced ICS/OT cybersecurity skills and knowledge to protect industrial control systems from cybersecurity threats.

This course includes the following objectives:

Course Objectives for the CYBER DEFENSE PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION (CDPC):

1) Developing and Managing Security Programs: Learn to develop, implement, and manage comprehensive OT cybersecurity programs aligned with organizational strategy and goals. 

2) Advanced Threat Analysis: Refine your ability to analyze and evaluate advanced cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities in OT systems.

3) Threat Landscape and Attack Vectors: Perform a detailed analysis of the current threat landscape including historical, common, and emerging threats specific to OT environments such as ransomware, Advances Persistent Threats (APTs), and insider threats. Learn to write a sitrep (situation report) on zero day and emerging threats.

4) Risk Assessment and Management: Master the techniques for identifying, assessing, managing, and reporting risks in OT environments. Perform a practice vulnerability assessment, perform threat modeling, and learn how to improve reporting and mitigation strategies. 

5) Implementing Security Controls and Countermeasures: Gain expertise in applying advanced and adaptive security controls and countermeasures to enhance the security posture of OT systems and networks. 

6) Cybersecurity Architecture and Design for OT: Learn about designing secure OT architectures that can withstand current and emerging cyber threats. 

7) Network Security Monitoring for OT: Acquire skills for setting up and managing network security monitoring tools including firewalls to detect and mitigate threats in real time. 

8) Consequence Informed Engineering: Work through case studies to implement security by design principles as they apply to OT and integrate security features and controls and inform on risk and impact in the early states of development. Apply consequence-informed engineering principles to mitigate the most significant risks in OT environments.

9) Cyber-Physical Systems Security: Focus on securing cyber-physical systems and gain understanding into the implications of cyberattacks that can cause disruption to physical processes or cause physical or catastrophic damage.

10) System Hardening: Learn strategies and put them into practice for hardening OT components and reducing the threat surface against cyberattacks. Strategies covered and practiced include removal of unnecessary and potentially risky services and advanced patch management strategies. 

11) Emerging Technologies and Future Trends: Gain exposure to how emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, quantum computing, and blockchain can be challenges or leveraged for OT cybersecurity.

12) Applicable Security Frameworks and Standards: Learn to identify, navigate, map, and implement applicable and relevant security frameworks and standards such as NERC CIP, NIST CSF, NIST 800-53 rev. 5, NIST 800-82 rev. 3, IEC 62443, and ISA/IEC 62443. 

Professional Training goes beyond the Associate course and includes:

1) Hands-on Training and Simulations: Practical exercises and simulations that mimic real-world threat scenarios. Simulations include the attack on Ukraine bulk electric systems (BES). CYBER DEFENSE CENTER simulations also act as a cyber range that replicates OT networks and systems. 

2) Live Lab Training and Simulations: Cyber Defense Professional Certification candidates become exposed and begin using the live lab and simulations that are part of the Cyber Defense Expert Certification track.