Full Report
Another two-day course “Advanced Industrial Cybersecurity in Practice” was held in Germany. The course included theoretical sections followed by live demonstrations and exercises. An international group of participants left positive feedback
Analysis Summary
# Industry News: Kaspersky and Fraunhofer IOSB Strengthen OT Security Skills Gap via Joint Training
## Summary
Kaspersky Lab and the Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation (IOSB) have successfully completed another iteration of their "Advanced Industrial Cybersecurity in Practice" training in Germany. The course combines theoretical frameworks with hands-on live demonstrations to address the specialized security needs of Industrial Control Systems (ICS).
## Key Details
- **Date:** December 14, 2018
- **Companies Involved:** Kaspersky Lab, Fraunhofer IOSB
- **Category:** Professional Services / Training & Education Partnership
## The Story
As the convergence of IT and Operational Technology (OT) accelerates, the manufacturing and industrial sectors face a critical shortage of skilled personnel capable of defending legacy infrastructure against modern cyber threats. To address this, Kaspersky Lab partnered with Fraunhofer IOSB, one of Europe's leading research organizations, to deliver a two-day intensive course in Karlsruhe, Germany.
The curriculum focused on practical defense, utilizing the Fraunhofer IOSB’s specialized lab environments. By moving beyond high-level theory into live exercises, the program aims to provide engineers and IT security staff with the specific forensic and defensive skills required to manage threats in complex industrial environments without disrupting production uptime.
## Business Impact
### For the Companies Involved
- **Kaspersky:** Strengthens its brand as a thought leader in the ICS space and builds a pipeline for its industrial product line (KICS).
- **Fraunhofer IOSB:** Solidifies its position as a premier European research and training hub for cyber-physical systems.
### For Competitors
- Competitors (such as Claroty, Dragos, or Nozomi Networks) face increased pressure to provide similar high-touch educational services to build brand loyalty and technical competency among end-users.
### For Customers
- Industrial enterprises benefit from a standardized, localized (German-based) training path that helps reduce the risk of catastrophic downtime due to human error or sophisticated cyberattacks.
### For the Market
- This signals a maturing OT security market where product sales are increasingly tied to professional services and workforce development.
## Technical Implications
The training emphasizes the distinction between standard IT security (where confidentiality is king) and OT security (where availability and integrity are paramount). The use of live demonstrations highlights technical challenges such as legacy protocol vulnerabilities (Modbus, Profinet) and the risks of patching active industrial controllers.
## Strategic Analysis
- **Market Positioning:** Kaspersky is positioning itself as an "educational partner" rather than just a software vendor, which is a high-retention strategy in the industrial sector.
- **Competitive Advantage:** Leveraging the "Fraunhofer" brand provides significant academic and regional credibility in the DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) industrial heartland.
- **Challenges:** Geopolitical tension surrounding Russian-linked firms (like Kaspersky) remains a persistent hurdle for Western government-linked infrastructure projects, despite the technical quality of their training.
## Industry Reactions
- **Analyst Opinions:** Analysts generally view such partnerships as essential for the "Human Firewall" component of industrial defense, noting that tools are useless without trained operators.
- **Expert Commentary:** Industry experts point out that the DACH region is particularly sensitive to industrial espionage, making specialized training highly sought after by "Mittelstand" companies.
## Future Outlook
- **Predictions:** Expect an expansion of these programs into virtualized/remote labs to reach a global audience.
- **What to Watch For:** Whether this partnership leads to a joint technical certification that becomes a standard requirement for industrial security roles in Europe.
## For Security Professionals
Practitioners should view this as a signal that the "Generalist" era of cybersecurity is ending. Specialists in ICS/SCADA are in high demand. If you are a professional in the manufacturing or energy sector, pursuing hands-on certifications that bridge the gap between "the wire" and "the wrench" is currently a high-value career move.