Has your organization tested its OT security incident response plan in the last 6 months? Do you remember when you last checked your institutional OT security awareness levels? Are your OT security programs running in compliance with IEC 62443? If your answer is no for any of the above questions, then this article is for you.

Why do we need to conduct OT security tabletop exercises regularly?

Tabletop exercises help security teams play out scenarios to test various components of an OT security program including elements of governance, compliance and incident response. Such tests can be conducted without the risk of downtime to test the effectiveness of various response mechanisms and the role of people and processes in it.

Download our TTX template now: OT Security Tabletop Exercise.

The scope of an OT security tabletop exercise should ideally cover:

Objective and definition: Identify and set specific goals for the exercise, such as testing incident response plans, improving employee communication, testing a specific aspect of OT security approach or identifying gaps in security posture that may hinder a coherent response to an OT security incident or event.

Realistic scenario development in tabletop exercises involves:

• Simulating a ransomware attack targeting PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) or other crown jewels
• An insider acting voluntarily or otherwise to sabotage operations
• Malware targeting SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems resulting in downtime or plant slowdown
• Attacks on third-party OT systems.
• A new asset with a vulnerability that allows remote operational control
• A reconnaissance attack that goes undetected
• An full-scale APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) actor attack using the most sophisticated means to target operations
• A sudden rise in false positives leading to fatigue among security analysts

Who should participate in an OT security tabletop exercise?

Ideally, any team that is connected with OT directly or otherwise should participate in these exercises. A tentative list of participants includes:

• OT Engineers and Technicians
• IT Security Staff
• Incident Response Teams
• Plant Managers
• Third-party Vendors (if applicable)
• Legal and Compliance Teams
• An objective referee/observer  
• OT security analysts

What roles and responsibilities can be assigned to the participants during a tabletop exercise?

The role of each participant should be clearly defined as per the scenario being tested. Suggested roles include:

• Team leaders
• Early responders (based on scenario)
• Incident responders
• Communication coordinators
• Technical advisors
• Incident reporters
• Referee/observers 

Understand and learn how you can benefit from assigning specific roles and responsibilities using the help of IEC 62443 and NIST CSF: OT Security Roles and Responsibilities

How can an incident flow be developed during a tabletop exercise

Any simulated/unfolding event can be divided into various parts such as:

• Stage1: detection of an anomaly in the production system or any part of the plant that is participating in the exercise.
• Stage 2: escalation of the incident gradually or suddenly, impacting critical operations. More teams get involved at this stage
• Stage 3: incident response coordination across teams, involving external communications, applying incident response playbooks or countermeasures and containment.
• Stage 4: debriefing and post-incident analysis, with a focus on identifying root causes and applying lessons learned.
• Stage 5: publishing the findings of the report and areas for improvement along with a roadmap to address the gaps identified

The performance of each aspect of the exercise should be evaluated in detail at a step/response level.

Download your copy of the Facility Incident Response Plan and Checklist now!

Essential factors for a successful OT security tabletop exercise

• Keep it realistic and relatable: the scenarios should be relevant not just from an industry and day-to-day operations standpoint but also from the perspective of threats and risks  
• Ensure collaboration and joint ownership: communication, collaboration, and cross-functional teamwork are essential for success.
• Maintain a detailed record: cover actions, decisions, and observations at all stages of the exercise to facilitate the preparation of a detailed post-event report backed by evidence and data  
• Ensure that all OT security gaps are addressed: update and refine security policies, incident response procedures, and training programs as needed to address the gaps.
• Involve all stakeholders: including third parties and OEMs, if possible

What are the benefits of a tabletop exercise?

The following are some of the benefits that institutions and teams can gather:

1. Improved OT/ICS and IoT incident response

• Readiness: teams can familiarize themselves with incident response plans and procedures specific to OT systems and apply them during an actual incident with ease.
• Detection of gaps: weaknesses in response capabilities, processes, or timelines can be detected
• Reduced time-to-recovery: by practicing to respond efficiently the chances of a major impact on key systems is minimized and thereby the time to recover and return to business as usual is reduced  

2. Better cross-functional collaboration

• Team communication: the OT, IT, security, and management teams can come together to work towards a common objective 
• Clarity of role: team members can better understand their roles and responsibilities during an incident thereby getting into action much faster. 

3. Increased awareness of OT security risks

• Risk sensitivity: enhances risk sensitivity among participants and makes them more aware of the need to learn and act when required during an incident
• Understanding of threats: practical examples of real-world threats, like ransomware or insider threats, and their impact can be learned during each exercise.
• Executive involvement: at all levels, there is a better appreciation of the impact of OT risks and threats on day-to-day operations 

4. An opportunity to test the relevance and applicability of security controls, incident playbooks and policies

• Validation: validates the effectiveness of incident response methods and playbooks and security policies revealing gaps and areas for improvement
• Assessment of OT security controls: current security controls and monitoring systems are put to the test to determine if they are adequate manage the type of incidents that may playout in the future
• Compliance: such an exercise helps ensure the alignment of security practices with regulatory and industry standards and any internal governance requirements.

5. Enhanced crisis planning and management

• Decision making preparedness: prepares all stakeholders to make timely, informed decisions during crunch situations.
• Recording and documentation: enables the adoption of accurate documentation practices for managing and learning from real incidents.

6. Continuous improvement

• Post-exercise steps: a structured debrief that reviews the exercise outcomes helps identify action items for improvement and future action
• Skill development: improves the skills and readiness of all participants and provides a safe environment to test new incident response methods and strategies 
• Risk minimization: corrective actions based on learnings can be implemented to strengthen the OT security posture in the future.

7. Reinforce cyber resilience measures

• Cultural resilience:  promotes the development of a culture of security that is actively engaged through better security measures at all times
• Employees are invested in cybersecurity: enables engagement of employees at all levels making it a collective priority (as opposed to security being the responsibility of the OT security team).
• Tools, training, and upskilling: identifies areas that require resource allocation thereby justifying the need for new investments in security tools, measures, training, or infrastructure.

Through OT security tabletop businesses can continually evolve their cybersecurity strategies to face emerging OT threats thereby safeguarding and enhancing operational continuity and resilience.

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*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Sectrio authored by Prayukth K V. Read the original post at: https://sectrio.com/blog/leveraging-ot-ics-tabletop-exercises/