Industry under attack - the threats facing the oil and gas industry and recent incidents

LONDON - July 9, 2014 - PRLog -- On September 29th and 30th in London, the Cyber Senate will be hosting it's inaugural Industrial Control Cyber Security conference, addressing current threats, vulnerabilities, development and standardization of cybersecurity controls and processes and the convergence of IT and OT.

Today a key presentation was announced on Methodologies for Offshore Rig Testing, the pursuit of technologies to make IT operations more efficient. The session will take place for 30 minutes and include a roundtable opportunity for all participants as we address key areas such as:
-The specific challenges of offshore exploration and production - from large, complex vessels that are rarely in dock to the split responsibility of owner and operator
-Vulnerabilities and issues that crop up repeatedly during rig security assessments and testing
-Making improvements within the practical constraints of the real-life operating environment and back onshore
-Cyber position for offshore oil compared with other asset-intensive industries
-Future outlook - will preparations keep up with threats or are we waiting for the big one?

Organisers are keen to highlight the addition of this content to one of Europe's premier conferences, as global Oil and Gas facilities are increasingly under attack, but very little industry discussion or focus has taken place regarding the offshore E&P threats. From network intrustion, DOS, to insider threats, the remote environment of these installations poses a significant challenge.

The presentation will be delivered by Duncan Page, Head of Price Water House Coopers cyber practice for the energy, utilites and mining sector.
Duncan Page was a partner in a big 4 systems integrator, before working in industry and then developing a niche in cyber security for SCADA, smart grids and smart metering.

Duncan’s eye-opener to the SCADA world was a security and resilience improvement activity for a major electricity distributor that had split from its parent company and needed to operate independently.  On top of this came the need to protect electricity supply for global sporting events in the face of threatened cyber disruption.  Duncan led the programme with the company’s network control, IT teams, SCADA vendors and UK Government agencies to meet this challenge.
At PwC Duncan is currently most active in distribution utilities and oil extraction.

The Cyber Senate is an exclusive community of global Cyber Security leaders with unparalleled knowledge and experience, creating a common voice for the Cyber Security industry.

For more information contact

James Nesbitt
Director, Cyber Senate
+44 (0)207 096 1754
james@sagacity-media.com