SecurityWeek’s ICS Cybersecurity Conference will host the Cyber Attack Methods course this October, running from October 6 to 8 at the W Nashville hotel. The hands-on training, developed in partnership with MTSI, focuses on real-world techniques used to compromise industrial control systems. Participants will engage in simulated attacks on cyber-physical infrastructure to better understand defensive strategies.
The Cyber Attack Methods course provides immersive training where security professionals learn how adversaries infiltrate and manipulate OT environments. By replicating actual attack vectors such as credential theft, lateral movement, and payload deployment, attendees gain insight into vulnerabilities often overlooked in traditional security training. MTSI instructors guide participants through controlled scenarios using real ICS protocols and hardware emulators. The goal is to shift mindset from passive monitoring to active threat hunting within industrial networks. Past attendees have reported improved incident response times and better coordination between IT and OT teams after completing the course.
Unlike lecture-based sessions, this course emphasizes learning through doing, allowing participants to test defenses in a safe, isolated environment. By experiencing attacks firsthand, security staff can identify gaps in logging, segmentation, and access controls that might not appear in theoretical assessments. The training also highlights the importance of behavioral analysis over signature-based detection in OT settings. MTSI notes that organizations sending teams to the course often see measurable improvements in their red team exercises and internal audits. Feedback from previous years indicates that 85% of participants felt more confident in identifying stealthy intrusion attempts after the training.
Who is the Cyber Attack Methods course designed for? The course is intended for OT security engineers, SOC analysts, and incident responders responsible for protecting industrial control systems. It assumes foundational knowledge of networking and security principles but does not require prior offensive experience.
What equipment or software do participants need to bring? Attendees only need to bring a laptop with remote desktop capability; all necessary tools, virtual machines, and simulation environments are provided by MTSI during the course. No personal installation of potentially harmful software is required.
Is the training suitable for beginners in cybersecurity? While the course covers advanced attack techniques, it begins with a refresher on ICS architecture and common protocols. Participants with basic cybersecurity familiarity typically keep pace, though prior exposure to OT systems is beneficial for maximizing the learning experience.