Full Report
Kaspersky Lab ICS CERT experts have held the first tech talk on industrial cyber security at UC Berkeley.
Analysis Summary
# Industry News: Kaspersky ICS CERT Academic Outreach at UC Berkeley
## Summary
Kaspersky Lab’s Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS CERT) conducted its inaugural technical talk at the University of California, Berkeley. The session focused on the unique challenges of securing industrial environments and bridge the gap between academic research and real-world industrial threat intelligence.
## Key Details
- **Date:** December 6, 2017
- **Companies Involved:** Kaspersky Lab, University of California, Berkeley
- **Category:** Educational Outreach / Brand Positioning / Academic Partnership
## The Story
Experts from Kaspersky Lab’s specialized ICS CERT division engaged with students and faculty at UC Berkeley to discuss the specialized landscape of Industrial Cyber Security. The talk centered on the vulnerabilities inherent in legacy infrastructure, the evolution of threats targeting critical infrastructure, and the necessity of specialized security frameworks that differ from traditional IT security. By bringing deep-field intelligence from their CERT operations to a top-tier US research university, Kaspersky aimed to foster a new generation of talent focused on Operational Technology (OT) security.
## Business Impact
### For the Companies Involved
- **Kaspersky Lab:** Enhances its reputation as a thought leader in the niche ICS/OT sector. This outreach serves as a long-term recruitment pipeline and validates their research against academic scrutiny.
- **UC Berkeley:** Provides students with access to real-world forensic data and industrial threat landscapes that are often inaccessible in a purely academic setting.
### For Competitors
- **Competitive Pressure:** Rivals like Dragos, Claroty, and Nozomi Networks may feel pressure to increase their academic presence to ensure their proprietary methodologies are being taught or considered in top-tier research institutions.
### For Customers
- **Talent Pool Growth:** Industrial enterprises (utilities, manufacturing, oil & gas) benefit from a more "job-ready" workforce that understands the intersection of cybersecurity and physical engineering.
### For the Market
- **Standardization of Knowledge:** Moving ICS security from "niche expertise" to undergraduate/graduate curricula signals a maturing market that is becoming a standard pillar of the broader cybersecurity industry.
## Technical Implications
The session likely highlighted the technical divergence between IT (Information Technology) and OT (Operational Technology), specifically focusing on:
- **Protocol Vulnerabilities:** Inherent weaknesses in Modbus, DNP3, and Profinet.
- **Availability vs. Confidentiality:** The technical shift where system uptime (Availability) is prioritized over data encryption.
- **Air-gap bypass techniques:** How modern threats traverse isolated networks.
## Strategic Analysis
- **Market Positioning:** Kaspersky is positioning itself as a global authority on critical infrastructure protection, attempting to transcend the "antivirus vendor" label.
- **Competitive Advantage:** Direct engagement with US-based academic powerhouses like Berkeley helps Kaspersky maintain a foothold in the North American intellectual market, despite geopolitical headwinds.
- **Challenges:** Increasing regulatory and political scrutiny regarding Russian-headquartered firms in US critical infrastructure may gate-keep the practical application of this research in certain sectors.
## Industry Reactions
- **Analyst Opinions:** Analysts generally view such academic engagements as essential for "ecosystem building"—creating an environment where the company's tools and philosophies become the baseline for new professionals.
- **Market Response:** Neutral in the short term, but long-term positive for brand "stickiness" in the industrial sector.
## Future Outlook
- **Predictions:** Expect an increase in "Cyber-Physical" degree programs and certificates as the demand for OT security professionals continues to outpace supply.
- **What to watch for:** Whether this interaction leads to formal research partnerships or joint publications between Kaspersky and US academic institutions.
## For Security Professionals
Practitioners should note the increasing convergence of IT and OT. This news highlights that ICS security is no longer a "dark art" but a formalized discipline. Professionals currently in IT security should look toward these ICS CERT resources to understand how to protect the "S" (Systems) in ICS, as hardware-software integration becomes the primary attack surface for state-sponsored and ransomware actors.