Each year, cybersecurity professionals gather in Norway for what’s become the country’s largest security festival, called “Sikkerhetsfestivalen”. Most recently held from August 26-28, in Lillehammer, the festival was home to more than 27 different topical tracks running concurrently to cater to the diverse cybersecurity interests among attendees. One of those tracks was on Operational Technology (OT) security, which was led by Omny’s own Sondre Halvorsen.
In addition to his day job of developing a risk management SaaS solution, Sondre was selected to lead the OT Track at this year’s Sikkerhetsfestivalen. After acceptin the role, he assembled a committee of experts from across industry to help create an engaging and relevant OT security program for the festival. Their vision was clear: to move beyond a purely academic focus and ensure the OT track had strong industry representation and real-life cases.
“We wanted to bring in voices from key industries that heavily rely on OT, including maritime, energy, manufacturing, and power and utilities,” explains Sondre. “Each of these industries faces its own challenges with security OT systems, like safeguarding a vessel in open seas to protecting a power station nestled in the Norwegian mountains. We set out to cover the range of challenges faced.”
Sondre and the OT security committee worked to ensure that every corner of OT security was covered in their track. They brought in a mix of people with hands-on experience, academic backgrounds, and international perspectives, including one memorable presentation by Dr. Jesus Molina, Director of Industrial Security at Waterfall Security Solutions.
“Jesus discussed important topics such as how generative AI can be used to amplify attacks on systems, and how the most important mitigations for OT systems are often physical ones,” says Sondre, “which means that rather than relying solely on digital defenses, industries should design their systems to physically prevent catastrophic failures in the event of a cyber-attack.”
One of the key sessions of the OT security track was on the implications of NIS2, the updated directive from the EU that is reshaping how industries approach cybersecurity. Speakers Jon-Martin Storm (Senior Engineer, Cybersecurity) and Linn Barstad (Senior Risk Advisor) from the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (NVE), shared how NIS2 is poised to impact sectors such as water and power generation that are critical to society. This sparked important discussions on how companies can prepare for NIS2 requirements, a topic on which Omny is also heavily focused.
The OT security track also featured experts sharing “tales from the field”, which were real-world case studies about how Norwegian companies are addressing challenges related to the security of their OT systems. Representatives of NTNU chimed in on this topic, discussing recent research around securing systems critical to providing clean drinking water.
The OT security track was well-attended by professionals representing various industries, specifically manufacturing and energy. Many of them were in-house security experts grappling with the everyday challenges of keeping their OT systems secure.
“What became evident was that while there is progress, OT security remains a challenge. The systems in use are often old and hard-to-update, and the stakes are incredibly high. The global security situation has shifted, and organizations are forced to find solutions to secure their critical systems,” explains Sondre.
“It’s a scenario that requires broad collaboration – collaboration across industries and with authorities and NGOs working on this. We need to come together, in forums such as Sikkerhetsfestivalen and others, and share solutions and strategies, more often.”
While there’s still a long way to go in securing OT systems, the well-received OT track at Sikkerhetsfestivalen demonstrates the growing attention and effort directed towards this crucial area of cybersecurity.
“With industries collaborating more, and events like this one fostering greater collaboration, the future looks brighter for OT security in Norway and beyond. I’m very pleased with how our OT track turned out, largely thanks to our amazing committee,” concludes Sondre. “What we achieved together is a strong reflection of the growing movement towards a more secure industrial landscape.”
Where is Omny headed next? Why not check out our events page to see where our expertise will pop up next.