2025-11-15 –, Room 401
As cyber threats to Operational Technology (OT) increase, organizations are turning to assessments to gauge their security posture. Yet too often, these efforts result only in compliance checklists, missing the broader opportunity to build shared understanding and lasting resilience.
This talk explores how OT cybersecurity assessments can be transformed into vehicles for knowledge-sharing across the enterprise. More than identifying control gaps, effective assessments create a common language between engineers, operators, and security teams, ensuring that technical findings translate into actionable, operationally grounded improvements.
We will discuss how assessments can:
Illuminate workflows and vulnerabilities that only frontline staff truly understand.
Build cross-team trust by engaging operations, security, and leadership in a shared process.
Translate frameworks like IEC 62443 and NIST 800-82 into tailored, context-specific practices.
Empower teams through readiness reviews, iterative baselines, and evolving metrics that reflect real-world maturity.
By treating assessments as collaborative exercises—acts of both technical analysis and organizational diplomacy—we can ensure they leave behind more than a report. They leave behind knowledge: clarity of purpose, visible progress, and the confidence to adapt security controls as threats and operations evolve.
Attendees will gain insight into designing assessments that not only measure but also teach, bridging silos and embedding security knowledge where it matters most—within the teams who operate and safeguard critical infrastructure every day.
Kristen Wells is a Senior Consultant at IBM specializing in Operational Technology (OT) cybersecurity, with experience leading transformation initiatives across critical infrastructure, energy, and manufacturing sectors. Her work bridges the gap between engineering and cybersecurity, helping organizations align frameworks such as IEC 62443, NIST SP 800-82, and the NIST Cybersecurity Framework with real-world industrial operations. Kristen has developed methodologies for OT security assessments that emphasize collaboration, measurable outcomes, and sustainable security practices. She is passionate about sharing knowledge across disciplines and equipping both engineers and cybersecurity professionals to build resilience together in complex operational environments.