The inaugural OT Cybersecurity Summit will take place in Aberdeen, Scotland on 31 May and 1 June . The innovative summit is set in an intentional location, as much of the oil and gas production from the UK Sector of the North Sea is considered critical infrastructure. ISA will also offer training sessions on the days preceding the summit on 29 and 30 May.
Why Aberdeen?
Because of its importance to the security and prosperity of the UK, these operations are coming under increased regulatory scrutiny. Aberdeen is an ideal location to bring together stakeholders from across the oil and gas industry and its supply chains for a productive and informative conversation about how to identify and mitigate cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
OT Cybersecurity Summit Speakers
The OT Cybersecurity Summit strives to offer the most innovative points of view in the operational technology space, and has recruited some of the industry’s leading minds on supply chain and threat intelligence, including:
- Day 1 Keynote speaker Megan Samford (VP and Chief Product Security Officer for Energy Management at Schneider Electric)
Megan Samford is a nonresident senior fellow at the Cyber Statecraft Initiative under the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab), serving as vice president as well as chief product security officer for energy management at Schneider Electric. Presently the only female chief product security officer (CPSO) for a major industrial, Samford is a security executive with a focus on industrial control systems security, critical infrastructure protection, and risk analysis. Samford drives the product security strategy and program for Schneider Electric’s energy management business
- Day 2 Keynote speaker Cheri Caddy (Deputy Assistant National Cyber Director at the White House)
Cheri Caddy is the Deputy Assistant National Cyber Director for Cyber Technology, Research and Development in the Office of the National Cyber Director at the White House. In this role she leads technical strategy and policy for national cyber programs on R&D, operational technology, securing the clean energy transition, technical standards, and software liability. Over the past 30 years, Caddy has held senior cyber technology and policy roles at the Department of Energy, the Intelligence Community, and the National Security Council
- Allan Friedman (Department of Commerce)
Allan Friedman is the Director of Cybersecurity Initiatives at National Telecommunications and Information Administration in the US Department of Commerce. Prior to joining the federal government, Friedman was a noted cybersecurity and technology policy researcher. Both a technologist and a policy scholar, his work spans computer science, public policy and the social sciences, and has addressed a wide range of policy issues from privacy to telecommunications. Friedman has over a decade of experience in cybersecurity research with a particular focus on economic, market, and trade issues. He is the coauthor of Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press, 2014)
- Soliman Almadi (ISA EMEA District DVP, Saudi Aramco)
Soliman Almadi has been a Senior Engineering Consultant with the Saudi Arab American "Aramco" Company for more than 20 years. He is also the ISA Vice President-Europe Middle East and Africa, ISA Saudi Arabia Board Member, and an Innovation and Excellence International Awards Winner
- Steve Mustard (former ISA president and CEO of Au2mation)
Steve Mustard is an independent automation consultant and an ISA subject matter expert. Backed by more than 30 years of engineering experience, Mustard specializes in the development and management of real-time embedded equipment and automation systems. He serves as president of National Automation, Inc., and served as the 2021 president of ISA. Mustard is a licensed professional engineer in both Texas and Kansas, a UK registered chartered engineer, a European registered Eur Ing, an ISA Certified Automation Professional (CAP), a certified Global Industrial Cybersecurity Professional (GICSP), and a Certified Mission Critical Professional
- Chris McLaughlin (CISO, Johns Manville)
Chris McLaughlin has more than 20 years of information security and infrastructure experience, leading the vision for an overly complex manufacturing company. A strategic leader who has a solid understanding of technology trends and the value that technology can deliver to a business—McLaughlin has 25 years of experience working in complex Industrial Control Systems (ICS) security environments. He also chairs the JM Information Security Council, providing governance for the cyber security program and is a newly appointed vice chair of the ISAGCA advisory board
- Franky Thrasher (Manager Nuclear Cybersecurity, ENGIE Electra BEL)
Franky Thrasher is a cyber-security researcher and information security officer. He specializes in researching industrial control system security and has successfully implemented a cyber-security program specifically dedicated to critical infrastructure. Thrasher has been active in information security roles for 20 years in many different sectors including manufacturing, utilities, and services
- James Deacon (Head of International Standards, International Engagement and Enterprise IoT Policy at DSIT)
James Deacon is the Head of International Standards, International Engagement, and Non-Consumer IoT (Internet of Things) Policy at the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT). James is a member of standards committees working on IoT in ETSI, ISO, and ITU, a member of the World Economic Forum’s ‘Role of Government’ group for consumer IoT, and previously chaired the Agile Nations Working Group for Consumer IoT
The summit is an opportunity for operators, service companies, regulators, and equipment providers to meet face-to-face. This two-track, two-day event will be organized around two major topics: supply chain and threat intelligence, with panel discussions on supply chain risk management and understanding ISA/IEC 62443.
Attendees can expect to increase their understanding of how to use standards and conformance systems to keep operational technology (OT) safe and secure, as well as to learn how to protect their fortress with the ISA/IEC 62443 series of standards and related training courses. In addition to invaluable knowledge gained at the summit, attendees will receive a Certificate of Completion with PDH credits and access to recorded presentations and virtual booths for 30 days after the event.
For more information—or to register for the inaugural OT Cybersecurity summit—visit www.isa.org/otcyber.