OT Cybersecurity Tabletop Exercises
Facilitated incident response exercises using realistic OT cyber scenarios to test cross-functional coordination, decision-making under pressure, and recovery procedures.
Testing Response Before It Matters
An incident response plan on paper is not the same as a tested capability. Tabletop exercises reveal the gaps that only surface under pressure: unclear escalation paths, conflicting priorities between IT and operations, missing communication channels, and decisions that nobody is prepared to make.
Our tabletop exercises are designed around realistic OT cyber scenarios specific to your industry and environment. They bring together operations, engineering, IT, and management in a structured simulation where decisions have consequences and coordination is tested across department boundaries.
Example Scenarios
- Ransomware propagation from enterprise IT to production OT
- Unauthorized modification of PLC logic on a safety-critical system
- Compromised vendor remote access session during maintenance
- Insider threat with privileged access to engineering workstations
- Anomalous SCADA traffic indicating potential reconnaissance
- Supply chain compromise through a firmware update package
Incident Simulation
Finding the gaps in your response before a real incident does
Engagement Methodology
A structured, phased approach designed for the safety, availability, and compliance requirements of operational technology environments.
Scenario Design
Design realistic OT cyber incident scenarios based on the organization's threat profile, critical assets, and operational context. Scenarios may include ransomware reaching production networks, unauthorized PLC modifications, compromised vendor remote access, insider threats, or safety system manipulation.
Exercise Planning and Coordination
Define exercise objectives, participant roles, inject timeline, and evaluation criteria. Coordinate with operations, engineering, IT, and management to ensure cross-functional participation. Prepare all exercise materials including scenario briefings, inject cards, and reference documents.
Exercise Facilitation
Facilitate the tabletop exercise with structured injects that escalate in complexity. Guide participants through detection, analysis, containment, and recovery decisions. Document all responses, decisions, communication breakdowns, and coordination gaps in real time.
Performance Evaluation
Score team performance against predefined evaluation criteria: detection speed, decision quality, communication effectiveness, escalation accuracy, and recovery completeness. Identify strengths and specific gaps in the incident response capability across all participating teams.
Findings Report and Improvement Plan
Deliver a findings report documenting all observations, gaps, and recommendations. Include an improvement plan with specific actions to address identified weaknesses in people, process, and technology. Prioritize actions by impact and implementation effort.
Service Deliverables
- Custom scenario design document tailored to the organization
- Tabletop exercise facilitation and delivery
- Performance evaluation scorecard per team and overall
- Findings report with detailed gap analysis
- Improvement plan with prioritized actions and timelines
Frameworks We Align With
Industries Served
Start Your OT Cybersecurity Tabletop Exercises Engagement
Get in touch to discuss your specific OT environment and how we can scope this engagement for your organization.