Fully online technical training designed around real industry demand, so you can specialize at your own pace.
10/31/2026
Start Date
1 month
Duration
100
Total Hours
6 Modules
Program
Duration
Total Hours
Program
Start Date
ICTESS’s OT Cybersecurity for Automation Training Course is designed to train specialists in protecting industrial environments against cyber threats. The program covers the security of industrial control systems (ICS), including SCADA networks, programmable logic controllers, and connected automation systems in production environments.
You’ll learn defense-in-depth methodologies applied to operational infrastructure: vulnerability analysis on industrial networks, segmentation using Purdue model architectures, configuring firewalls built for OT protocols, hardening techniques for PLCs and SCADA workstations, secure patch management, and industrial cybersecurity incident response procedures. The course includes a capstone project where you’ll apply everything you’ve learned to a complete OT infrastructure security project.
IT/OT convergence has exposed industrial networks to cyber threats that once only affected corporate systems. Attacks on critical infrastructure such as power plants, water treatment facilities, manufacturing, and transportation have grown exponentially, underscoring the urgent need for professionals who specialize in protecting industrial control systems that run essential physical processes.
The course’s purpose is to train professionals who can assess the security posture of OT environments, identify vulnerabilities specific to industrial protocols such as Modbus, OPC, or Profinet, design segmented network architectures based on international standards, implement access controls and monitoring, and coordinate incident response when operational continuity at industrial facilities is at risk.
The training includes hands-on work with OT traffic analysis tools such as Wireshark with industrial dissectors, and asset visibility platforms like Nozomi Networks or Claroty. The program culminates in a capstone project where you’ll develop a complete cybersecurity plan for a simulated industrial environment, applying every technical skill acquired.
The OT Cybersecurity for Automation Training Course prepares you for specialized technical roles at industrial automation companies, systems integrators, utilities and critical infrastructure operators, and security departments at production plants. You can work as an OT cybersecurity specialist, a control systems security lead, an industrial security consultant, or an incident response technician in operational environments.
The training prepares you to manage security across complete industrial installations: performing vulnerability assessments on control networks, designing segmentation architectures with zones and conduits under IEC 62443, configuring industrial firewalls and VPNs for secure remote access, applying hardening techniques to PLCs and SCADA systems, and leading the response to cybersecurity incidents.
You’ll also build the skills to develop OT security policies, manage patching programs without disrupting operational availability, implement industrial intrusion detection systems, and design backup and disaster recovery strategies.
Study from anywhere with no commuting required. Balance your technical specialization with your current professional career.
Organize your study schedule around your own availability. Move through modules at the pace that works best for you and revisit anything you need extra practice with.
Learn from documented industrial attack scenarios, real incident analysis, and hands-on hardening exercises.
Technical video lessons, up-to-date downloadable materials, forums with specialized instructors, and virtual OT network labs.
With ICTESS, you’ll get specialized technical training focused on professional practice and designed to help you master the skills the industrial cybersecurity sector demands. Learn with an up-to-date methodology and real OT protection scenarios.
What you'll achieve
Identify threats, vulnerabilities, and attack vectors specific to industrial networks, analyzing OT protocols such as Modbus, OPC UA, Profinet, and EtherNet/IP.
Design segmented network architectures applying the Purdue model and the zones-and-conduits concepts of IEC 62443 for automation environments.
Configure industrial firewalls, OT intrusion detection systems, and secure VPN connections for remote access to control and maintenance systems.
Apply hardening techniques to programmable logic controllers, engineering workstations, and SCADA servers to reduce the infrastructure’s attack surface.
Develop industrial cybersecurity incident response plans, including containment, eradication, recovery, and OT forensic analysis procedures.
Industrial environments are undergoing rapid digital transformation, connecting control systems that were once isolated to corporate networks and the internet. This IT/OT convergence multiplies the attack surface and exposes critical infrastructure to sophisticated cyber threats. Incidents such as Stuxnet, Triton, and Colonial Pipeline have demonstrated the destructive potential of attacks targeting industrial automation systems.
A Critical Shortage of OT Security Specialists: The job market faces a severe shortage of professionals who combine industrial automation knowledge with cybersecurity skills. Companies in the sector report extreme difficulty filling OT security roles, especially positions that require understanding both industrial protocols and OT-specific defense techniques.
Completing the OT Cybersecurity for Automation Training Course positions you in a sector with growing demand and a critical shortage of specialized professionals. Industrial digitalization and increasingly connected control systems have made OT cybersecurity a strategic priority for manufacturers, utilities, critical infrastructure operators, and industrial companies across every sector.
Access to High-Demand Technical Roles: You can pursue positions such as OT cybersecurity specialist, industrial security consultant, control systems security lead, or ICS threat analyst. The shortage of professionals with specific expertise in protecting operational environments is creating strong job opportunities in this field.
Mastery of International Standards and Frameworks: You’ll gain in-depth knowledge of IEC 62443, NIST SP 800-82 recommendations, and guidance from agencies like CISA, frameworks that are essential for designing and implementing internationally recognized OT security programs.
Ability to Protect Critical Infrastructure: You’ll build the skills to secure installations where a cybersecurity incident could affect production, physical worker safety, or the environment, taking on work with high organizational impact.
Recognized Professional Certificate: The ICTESS professional certificate validates your technical specialization in OT cybersecurity for automation, strengthening your position in the job market and confirming your skills to companies in the industrial sector.
This course is designed for technical professionals looking to specialize in protecting industrial control systems and automation environments against cyber threats. Recommended profiles include:
Program details
The capstone project is the culminating stage of the program and represents the practical integration of every technical skill developed throughout the course. It involves developing a complete OT cybersecurity plan for a simulated industrial infrastructure, from risk analysis through defining incident response procedures, applying the professional methods and regulatory frameworks used across the sector.
The project includes building an OT asset inventory for the selected industrial environment, identifying vulnerabilities and specific threats through protocol and configuration analysis, and designing a segmentation architecture following the zones-and-conduits model of IEC 62443. You’ll define the technical controls to implement: industrial firewall configuration, VPN-based remote access policies, PLC and SCADA hardening strategies, and patch and backup management procedures.
The project also includes developing an incident response plan with detection, containment, eradication, and recovery procedures adapted to the operational constraints of the industrial environment. The final documentation must be presented with the technical depth and professional format corporate OT security plans require, demonstrating your ability to produce complete technical documentation suitable for deployment on real industrial installations or presentation during compliance audits.
ICTESS’s OT Cybersecurity for Automation Training Course includes hands-on training with technical tools used on real industrial security projects. You’ll learn to use Wireshark with industrial protocol dissectors to analyze Modbus, OPC, and Profinet traffic, identifying anomalies and potential attacks on control networks. You’ll work with industrial firewall configuration concepts and understand how OT asset visibility platforms such as Nozomi Networks or Claroty work. You’ll also learn vulnerability assessment methodologies adapted to operational environments, techniques for analyzing PLC configurations to identify security weaknesses, and hardening procedures based on manufacturer guidance and recommendations from agencies such as CISA. Knowledge of these tools and methodologies is highly valued in hiring processes for OT security roles.
Prior cybersecurity experience isn’t required, but technical training in industrial automation, electricity, electronics, or IT is recommended. The course is designed for professionals who work with industrial control systems (PLCs, SCADA, HMIs) and want to add security skills, as well as for IT cybersecurity specialists looking to expand into OT. A basic understanding of TCP/IP networking, familiarity with how automation systems work, and comfort with concepts like IP addressing, communication protocols, and network architectures are essential. If you come from automation, the course will give you the cybersecurity foundations you need; if you come from IT, you’ll learn the specifics of industrial environments and their protocols.
The ICTESS professional certificate validates your technical specialization in OT cybersecurity and is recognized by companies in the industrial sector as high-value supplementary training. While it isn’t an official university degree, the certificate documents technical skills that are in high demand and short supply in the market: knowledge of IEC 62443, the ability to design OT segmentation architectures, mastery of control system hardening techniques, and skills for developing industrial incident response plans. Many automation companies, systems integrators, utilities, and critical infrastructure operators especially value this hands-on training, since it demonstrates up-to-date knowledge of OT threats, an understanding of the operational constraints of industrial environments, and hands-on project experience gained during the course.
This OT Cybersecurity for Automation Training Course stands out for its exclusive focus on industrial environments and its practical orientation toward real control systems. While most cybersecurity training focuses on corporate IT environments (servers, endpoints, office networks), this program specifically addresses protecting PLCs, SCADA systems, industrial networks, and OT protocols such as Modbus, OPC UA, or EtherNet/IP. The content includes analysis of real incidents at critical infrastructure facilities, designing segmentation architectures based on the Purdue model and IEC 62443, hardening techniques adapted to the availability constraints of production environments, and incident response procedures that account for impacts on physical processes. This specialization matters because OT security requires a fundamentally different approach than IT: it prioritizes availability over confidentiality, works with equipment that has very long lifecycles, and must account for physical safety risks.
