Cybersecurity
Course Pack: Cybersecurity Basics
Cybersecurity Part 1 – Cybersecurity Foundations and OT Safety Baseline (coming soon)
Course Description
This foundational module establishes the critical knowledge required to distinguish between corporate IT systems and safety-first Operational Technology (OT) environments within water and wastewater infrastructure. Participants will analyze the macro threat landscape—contrasting ransomware targeting municipal administrative data with nation-state attacks designed to manipulate physical treatment processes. The curriculum details the severe operational risks of using standard IT tools on the plant floor and introduces low-cost, right-sized methods for maintaining asset visibility.
Learning Objectives
1) Articulate the operational differences between corporate IT networks and industrial OT environments, focusing on physical process safety and deterministic operations
2) Explain why aggressive IT automated vulnerability scanners and active ping sweeps can saturate bandwidth or crash legacy PLCs and RTUs.
3) Maintain an accurate, basic facility cyber asset list using simple, low-cost manual logging methods.
Agenda
1) The Water Sector Threat Landscape: Ransomware vs. Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs); case analyses of targeted exploits on human-machine interfaces (HMIs).
2) The IT vs. OT Divide: The Purdue Model layers; balancing data confidentiality with continuous chemical dosing and plant safety.
3) Small-Utility Quick Win: Step-by-step creation of a manual asset list tracking physical PLC, HMI, and RTU endpoints without expensive software.
Target audience
All water and wastewater personnel, including operators, administrators, supervisors, and support staff who interact with utility information systems or operational technology
Level
I, II, III, IV
Learning material and method
Online on-demand
Assessment
Knowledge check and quiz (80% correct and above)
Instructor
Tung Nguyen