CSA Academy Collaborates with the U.S Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to Launch the Inaugural Singapore-Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity 301 Course

     Singapore’s CSA Academy has joined hands with the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to organise the inaugural Singapore-Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity 301 (SG-ICS301) course which is held alongside the Operational Technology Cybersecurity Expert Panel (OTCEP) Forum 2023. The four-day course will provide Operational Technology (OT) cybersecurity training to around 40 participants from Singapore, ASEAN, Bangladesh and Maldives.

2. Modeled after CISA’s hugely successful ICS301 course, the SG-ICS301 course seeks to equip participants with the concepts, theories and practical hands-on experience for protecting OT networks and securing Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) OT systems from cyber-attacks.  OT refers to technologies involving interconnected devices and computers for the monitoring and control of physical processes. It is deployed in industrial sectors such as energy, manufacturing, transportation and water.

3. Held on 21, 23, 24 and 25 August 2023, the course is designed to ensure that the engineers and cybersecurity professionals involved in supporting and protecting OT systems are kept up-to-date on how to keep the OT environment safe and secure against current and emerging cyber threats. The course will provide the opportunity for participants to learn about Singapore OT environment, and include red team and blue team (offensive and defensive security) exercises using the Secure Water Testbed in the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)’s iTrust laboratory. The hands-on exercises will allow participants to gain a deeper understanding of cybersecurity concepts such as network discovery, firewall rules and network-based forensics.  There will also be lab exercises to analyse ICS attacks using real-life scenarios of OT incidents. Participants will also have the opportunity to hear from a panel of local and international OT security practitioners and discuss how to put defence-in-depth in actual deployment for a safer operational environment and key security considerations when designing and implementing OT networks.

 4. The instructors for the SG-ICS301 course are made up of a team of cybersecurity experts and educators from CSA, CISA¹, polytechnics, and CSA’s appointed training partner Tegasus.  The course will strengthen CSA’s capacity building collaboration with CISA and contribute towards building up OT cybersecurity skills amongst professionals in Singapore and the region. The SG-ICS course will be held at the ASEAN-Singapore Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence. 

¹ CSA has an MOU on Cybersecurity Cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security, which is CISA’s parent agency. This MOU was first signed in 2016 and renewed in August 2021, and covers information