S2 E8: The Value of ICS & OT Exercises
From Simply ICS Cyber by Simply Cyber Media Group
November 19, 2025 · 23 min · Episode 15
About this episode
Sam Blaney discusses his experiences in cybersecurity and the importance of ICS and OT exercises.
In this episode of Simply ICS Cyber, Don and Tom welcome Sam Blaney, retired Chief Warrant Officer (CW3) from the Georgia National Guard and current cybersecurity professor at the University of North Georgia. Sam shares insights from his career building and leading Cyber Protection Team 170, his transition into teaching, and his continued work helping state and local governments strengthen cybersecurity. The conversation digs into Sam’s recent experience coaching students at the Department of Energy CyberForce Competition, where the University of North Georgia team defended a simulated offshore drilling platform with both IT and OT components. Sam discusses what made the event realistic, how students approached identity and access management, OT network analysis, and what they learned about preparation, tooling, and industrial control system challenges. The group also explores: - Effective defense preparation for cyber competitions - Building and tuning SIEM tools for constrained environments - The value of exercises like CCDC and CyberShield - How multidisciplinary tabletops improve communication across organizations - The increasing role of AI in attack and defense, including…
People in this episode
Hosts: Don, Tom
Guest: Sam Blaney
Topics covered
- ICS exercises
- OT cybersecurity
- cyber competitions
- identity and access management
- industrial control systems
- AI in cybersecurity
Keywords
- cybersecurity
- ICS
- OT
- cyber competitions
- AI
- identity management
- network analysis
- industrial control systems
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Georgia National Guard, University of North Georgia, Department of Energy CyberForce Competition, Cyber Protection Team 170
More episodes of Simply ICS Cyber
- S2 E7: ICS/OT Security Operations Centers · November 5, 2025 · 26 min
- S2 E6: Keeping Up With ICS Threat Intelligence · October 22, 2025 · 23 min
- S2 E5: Evolving Vendor and Integrator Cybersecurity in ICS/OT · October 8, 2025 · 2h 33m
- S2 E4: Industrial Security Alongside a Warzone · September 24, 2025 · 21 min
- S2 E3: Maritime Cybersecurity Threats & Critical Infrastructure · September 10, 2025 · 18 min
- S2 E2: Securing the Grid: Substation Security · August 27, 2025 · 23 min
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