Providing practical cyber defense guidance for the protection and resilience of critical infrastructure control systems that power and support our daily lives.
Trusted Operational Technology, Industrial Control System Cybersecurity Services
1 in 5 industrial sites — power substations, manufacturing plants, and water operations — experience cyber incidents that disrupt safety and engineering production. 20% of facilities take more than a month to recover.
THE ICS DEFENSE FORCE OVERWATCH PROGRAM
Expert-led rapid OT network snapshots assessments, OT threat intel insights and check-ins every month that strengthen OT/ICS network visibility, and industrial incident response readiness. That’s the ICS Defense Force Overwatch Program — delivering rapid insights, rapid action, and smarter ICS/OT cybersecurity
— every month.
The SANS Five ICS Cybersecurity Critical Controls are the standard for industrial cybersecurity—but many organizations still ask:
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How well have we actually implemented them, and which should we focus on next?
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ICS Defense Force answers this with a 90-minute, fixed-cost, risk-based rapid assessment designed specifically for real-world ICS/OT operations. Using a purpose-built ICS/OT cybersecurity toolkit, the assessment evaluates and prioritizes the SANS Five ICS Cybersecurity Critical Controls into a defensible, and sector-agnostic roadmap based on your current implementation ranking.
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Grounded in industrial incident response, global ICS/OT tabletop exercises, and network visibility and architecture assessments, the toolkit applies weighted, evidence-based ranking using key field-tested questions, informed by real-world attack paths and operational failure modes. The result is practical, prioritized direction for strengthening a new or existing ICS/OT cybersecurity program—across any industrial sector.
Download your FREE ICSDF Myths vs. Realities & Five Controls poster, and schedule your rapid Five ICS Cybersecurity Critical Controls Assessment now.
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20 Years Experience
Led by one of the industry's most trusted ICS/OT practitioners and cybersecurity leaders — Dean Parsons, Principal SANS Instructor and author — ICS Defense Force is trusted by global critical infrastructure.
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With over 20 years of industrial cybersecurity and engineering field experience, ICS Defense Force delivers practical, defensible, and threat-informed guidance aligned to site safety, system reliability, and practical operational needs.
CONTACT
Schedule Your Quick Call With ICS Defense Force
Get insights on how ICS Defense Force can improve your ICS/OT readiness and visibility.
Dean Parsons, B.Sc., CISSP, GICSP, GRID, GSLC, GCIA
Principal SANS Instructor, ICS 418 Co-Author & Instructor, ICS 515 Course Instructor, Critical Infrastructure & ICS (Industrial Control System) and Security Defender, Cybersecurity Leader & Practitioner - End to end cyber security defence.
Dean is the CEO and Principal Consultant of ICS Defense Force and brings over 20 years of technical and management experience to the classroom. He has worked in both Information Technology and Industrial Control System (ICS) Cyber Defense in critical infrastructure sectors such as telecommunications, electric generation, transmission, distribution, and oil & gas refineries, storage, and distribution, and water management.
Dean is an ambassador for defending industrial systems and an advocate for the safety, reliability, and cyber protection of critical infrastructure. His mission as an instructor is to empower each of his students, and he earnestly preaches that “Defense is Do-able!” Over the course of his career, Dean’s accomplishments include establishing entire ICS security programs for critical infrastructure sectors, successfully conducting industrial-grade incident response and tabletops, ICS digital forensics, and ICS/OT Cybersecurity assessments across multiple sectors.
As a SANS Principal Instructor, Dean teaches ICS515: ICS Visibility, Detection, and Response, is a co-author of the SANS course ICS418: ICS Security Essentials for Leaders and an author of SANS ICS Engineer Technical Awareness Training. Dean is a member of the SANS GIAC Advisory Board and holds many cybersecurity professional certifications including the GICSP, GRID, GSLC, and GCIA, as well as the CISSP®, and holds a BS in computer science.
