Illustrative: packages on a board with routed traces carrying clocked signals, or a data hall of racks and their status lights

Risk Academy, led by the Nexus Consortium · Course catalogue · Technology and Digital Systems

Cyber, Digital and Space Systems

Operational technology and cyber-physical security

Operational technology and cyber-physical security, taught twice over: as the working methods of the field and as its frontier since 2024, with labs on the Academy's tools, open data and the Nexus Standards.

Core course Frontier course

The discipline

01Core course · L2 Intermediate

Operational technology and cyber-physical security: foundations and practice

This area covers the security of systems that control physical processes: industrial control systems, SCADA, building and medical devices, vehicles and the industrial internet of things.

Level
L2 Intermediate
Study time
about 24 hours (planning estimate)
Status
Planned
Prerequisites
An L1 course in the area, or an entry review

Why now

Joint advisories in 2024 (CISA AA24-038A) described state actors pre-positioning in water, energy and transport control systems, and NIST SP 800-82 revision 3 (2023) and the IEC 62443 series set the reference for defending them. NIST, SP 800-82 Rev. 3, Guide to Operational Technology Security, 2023

Learning outcomes

  1. Define operational technology and the other key terms of the discipline and use them correctly in a written case
  2. Explain industrial control systems and SCADA and industrial automation and control system security with a worked example and its source
  3. Apply the discipline's method to a documented case and explain each result with its source
  4. Analyse a named case against safety and security co-engineering, stating evidence, date and limits

Modules

  1. Industrial control systems and SCADA
    • Industrial control systems and SCADA
    • Industrial automation and control system security
    • Safety and security co-engineering
  2. Attacks with physical consequences
    • Attacks with physical consequences
    • Network segmentation and the Purdue model
    • Vulnerability management in OT
  3. Industrial internet of things
    • Industrial internet of things
    • Incident response in industrial environments
    • Medical device and vehicle cyber security
  4. Lab: the discipline's method
    • A safety instrumented function's probability of failure on demand follows from its dangerous failure rate and its proof-test interval, and maps to a safety integrity level; the calculation assumes random, independent faults, so the security level of the zone around the controller is a separate decision that the safety figure never covers.
    • Work the method through a documented case and explain each result
    • Read the method's sources and stated values

Labs with Academy tools

Open data

Assessment

  • 40%Lab recordWork the discipline's method through a documented case and explain each result with its source and date
  • 40%Case memoApply the discipline's methods to a named place or organisation, stating evidence and limits
  • 20%Key terms checkShort answers on the key terms, marked against the definitions

Delivery

  • Self-paced online, with the labs in the browser
  • Cohort study over six to eight weeks, with a weekly lab review
  • Co-delivered with a partner institution, inside its own courses

Partner on this course

  • Co-teach a module and bring a current case from your work
  • Host a cohort for your learners, with your own schedule and review
  • Contribute a lab: a dataset your institution publishes openly, or a model
  • Review the course content and its references before it opens
  • Translate the course and adapt its cases to your region

How institutions and experts take part

In the Academy LMS

Course on the learning platform
Intermediate, 4 topics
Cohort group
A community group for each cohort of learners
Achievement
Recorded on completion of the assessed work

References

  1. Stouffer et al., Guide to Operational Technology (OT) Security (NIST SP 800-82 Revision 3), 2023
  2. Kriaa, Pietre-Cambacedes, Bouissou and Halgand, A survey of approaches combining safety and security for industrial control systems, 2015
  3. Young and Leveson, An integrated approach to safety and security based on systems theory, 2014
02Live map

Connected activity in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Night-time lights and population density, the footprint of electrified, connected activity, over the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.

Layers 2

Connected activity

Latest available

NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth

Loading the latest NASA imagery.

Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.

Connected activity, framed on the United Kingdom and Ireland.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date. They are indicators, not assessments of any place.

Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · NASA EONETSources and licences

  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • VIIRS Black Marble night-time lights, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; distributed by the NASA Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System (LAADS DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). doi:10.7927/H49C6VHW. CC BY 4.0
  • VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). Cite as: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (2019). ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003. doi:10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.003. NASA open data
  • Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
  • © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). ODbL
  • Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
  • Globe: MapLibre GL JS 6.9.1, BSD-3-Clause, © MapLibre contributors.
  • Live events: NASA Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET); events are indicative and keep their original source links.
  • NASA GIBS: We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
  • Optional layers (3 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.

Layers and dates

  • Night-time lights, daily: VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2), NASA LAADS DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
  • Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
  • True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026

03How learning runs

How learning runs, as a process you can run

Select a scenario and press Play: course, pathway, practice, faculty, cells and record.

04What is changing

What is changing, with standards and evidence

Operational technology and cyber-physical security: frontier methods

The methods, data, tools and studies that changed operational technology and cyber-physical security between 2024 and 2026, taught by reproducing them on open data.

Level
L3 Advanced
Study time
about 28 hours (planning estimate)
Status
Planned
Prerequisites
Operational technology and cyber-physical security: foundations and practice; Working knowledge of a scripting language (Python or R) for the labs

Why now

Joint advisories in 2024 (CISA AA24-038A) described state actors pre-positioning in water, energy and transport control systems, and NIST SP 800-82 revision 3 (2023) and the IEC 62443 series set the reference for defending them. NIST, SP 800-82 Rev. 3, Guide to Operational Technology Security, 2023

Learning outcomes

  1. Explain what changed in operational technology and cyber-physical security since 2024 and cite the studies, data or rules behind each change
  2. Reproduce control systems and their failure modes on open data and state the uncertainty of the result
  3. Evaluate a 2024 to 2026 study: its question, data, method, limits and what it changes for practice
  4. Design an analysis that combines a frontier method with the faculty's instruments, and justify each choice

Modules

  1. Control systems and their failure modes
    • PLCs, SCADA, safety instrumented systems
    • The Purdue model and its erosion
    • Safety and security together
  2. Threats
    • MITRE ATT&CK for ICS
    • Living off the land in OT networks
    • Case studies: Ukraine grid 2015 and 2016, TRITON
  3. Defence and assurance
    • IEC 62443 zones, conduits and security levels
    • Asset inventory and passive monitoring
    • Consequence-driven engineering
  4. Reproduction lab
    • Extend the discipline's method with one frontier method and compare its results
    • State the uncertainty and the limits of the result
    • Peer review against a shared checklist

Labs with Academy tools

Open data

Assessment

  • 50%Method reproductionReproduce one frontier method on open data and state the uncertainty of the result
  • 30%Study reviewA critical review of a 2024 to 2026 study: question, data, method, limits, what it changes
  • 20%Peer reviewReview two other learners' reproductions against a shared checklist

Delivery

  • Self-paced online, with the labs in the browser
  • Cohort study over six to eight weeks, with a weekly lab review
  • Co-delivered with a partner institution, inside its own courses

Partner on this course

  • Co-teach a module and bring a current case from your work
  • Host a cohort for your learners, with your own schedule and review
  • Contribute a lab: a dataset your institution publishes openly, or a model
  • Review the course content and its references before it opens
  • Translate the course and adapt its cases to your region

How institutions and experts take part

In the Academy LMS

Course on the learning platform
Expert, 4 topics
Cohort group
A community group for each cohort of learners
Achievement
Recorded on completion of the assessed work

References

  1. NIST, SP 800-82 Rev. 3, Guide to Operational Technology Security, 2023
  2. CISA, AA24-038A: PRC state-sponsored actors compromise and maintain persistent access to US critical infrastructure, 2024
  3. ISA, ISA/IEC 62443 series of standards, 2024
  4. Kriaa, Pietre-Cambacedes, Bouissou and Halgand, A survey of approaches combining safety and security for industrial control systems, 2015
  5. Young and Leveson, An integrated approach to safety and security based on systems theory, 2014
05Take part

Take part in the work

Start from who you are.

06Questions

Questions, answers and key terms

Is the course free?
Yes. Every course and learning material of Risk Academy, led by the Nexus Consortium, is free to study, self-paced or with a cohort. Ordinary participation has no fee; paid work, internships and fellowships are separate arrangements.
What does completing a course give me?
A completion record: the course, its version, the date and what was assessed, private by default and shared by you. It stacks into discipline, department and programme achievements. A record states what was studied and assessed and does not certify competence; it is not a licence, a professional title or an employment status.
Where do the data and the places come from?
Every faculty teaches on a twin of a real place built from open data; each layer carries its provider, licence and date, and every result on the Academy states its source. Maps and figures are indicators for teaching, never an assessment of a place.
How do I take part beyond the course?
Form a competence cell of three to seven people, study a shared pathway, take a supervised assignment in the National Working Groups, or bring a cohort from your institution. For organisations.

Key terms

Term

Operational technology

Hardware and software that monitor and control physical devices and processes.

Term

SCADA

Supervisory control and data acquisition: systems that monitor and control distributed industrial assets.

Term

Security level

In IEC 62443, a measure of the resistance of a zone or component to attackers of increasing capability.

Term

Zones and conduits

The IEC 62443 approach of grouping assets with common security needs and controlling communication between them.

ReportsContribute

Contribute evidence from this page.

Reports is the Consortium's quarterly publication. What you know about this subject can become evidence, a case or a correction in the next edition, credited to you and published under CC BY 4.0 where it is your own work.

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