Critical Control and Safety Systems Security and Resilience
In modern asset-intensive operations, control and safety systems are critical to maintaining safe, stable, and reliable operation. Disruptions—whether caused by failures, misconfigurations, or malicious cyber events—can directly impact uptime, environmental performance, and safety.
We provide targeted engineering assessments focused on the security and resilience of critical control and safety systems, with particular emphasis on how OT cybersecurity risks can translate into operational and process safety consequences.
This service sits at the intersection of process safety, functional safety, OT cybersecurity and control systems engineering.
When This Is the Right Engagement
This service is appropriate when:
- Control or safety systems are critical to maintaining safe operation
- Facilities rely heavily on automation for protection, shutdown, or stabilization
- There is concern that cyber events could lead to unsafe states or loss of control
- Organizations want clarity on whether existing OT cybersecurity controls adequately protect critical functions
This work is typically undertaken after, or alongside, reliability and process safety engagements.
Our Approach
Our approach is engineering-driven and risk-focused.
We concentrate on:
- Understanding how control and safety systems are intended to function
- Identifying credible cyber-induced failure scenarios
- Evaluating whether existing safeguards adequately protect critical functions
- Supporting proportionate improvements that enhance resilience without unnecessary complexity
This work is not an IT compliance exercise. The focus is on operational integrity and safe performance.
Our Services Include
- Identification of critical control and safety functions
- OT cybersecurity audits of control and safety systems, focused on:
- Architecture and network segmentation
- Access control and remote connectivity
- System hardening and configuration practices
- Change management and patching practices
- Identification of cyber-induced failure scenarios affecting critical functions
- Assessment of control system resilience under abnormal or degraded conditions
- Evaluation of the safety impact of control system disruptions
Typical Outcomes
Clients gain:
- Clear visibility into how cyber risks could affect safety and operations
- Prioritized findings focused on critical functions, not generic vulnerabilities
- Practical recommendations to improve control system security and resilience
- Improved alignment between OT cybersecurity, process safety, and operational risk management
If you’re dealing with recurring reliability issues, rising maintenance cost, or operational risks that are not well understood, we can help bring clarity and direction.
Let’s start with a practical conversation to come up with an integrated and fit for purpose solution.