Cybersecurity in Industrial Control Systems (ICS)

An industrial control system (ICS) is an electronic control system and associated instrumentation used for industrial process control. Control systems can range in size from a few modular panel-mounted controllers to large interconnected and interactive distributed control systems (DCSs) with many thousands of field connections.Types of industrial control systems employed in the various sectors include SCADA systems, Distributed Control Systems (DCS), and Process Control Systems (PCSs). ICSs can be used in food manufacturing, power regulation, and waste treatment.

Our members have had the privilege to serve as team leads and individual contributors in over 20 ICS security assessments involving multiple services. The services include the U.S Army, U.S. Air force, Washington State Guard and Washington Secretary of State. Industrial Control Systems (ICS) vary in their purpose - electrical output, water treatment, gas/energy refinement and even healthcare operations.

Our team members have traveled to Antartica to support National Science Foundation's (NSF) Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) ICS efforts to treat wastewater.