Unsolicited Response

Unsolicited Response is Dale Peterson's show about the security of industrial control systems and operational technology. The interview is its core. Peterson introduces several guests as people his audience probably already knows. Rob Lee covers threats. He explains pre-positioning: intelligence agencies gather access to infrastructure so their leaders have options, even if that access is never used, and he uses the electric sector as his example. He cites the Telvent breach as proof that the practice is not new. He also pushes back on people outside the work who question the case defenders make for their security programs, and he closes by crediting the people doing the defending. HD Moore's conversation begins with his track record, from Metasploit to Rapid7 to the company now called RunZero. Peterson then quotes Moore's own memory that early on everyone hated Metasploit, and asks how he got through those years. Joel Langill's episode, streamed live on LinkedIn and YouTube and also released as a podcast, takes up training. Langill calls the SANS program a very good basis of knowledge. He objects to it being called a professional certification, though, because credentials such as the CISSP or PMP require experience in the field. Nor, in his view, does it teach security from an operational perspective. With Maggie Morganti the subject turns to people, including how comfortable some OT workplaces are for women and how to bring more women into the field. Then there is S4. The conference comes up repeatedly, and Peterson talks about it as someone with a hand in running it. In 'S4x25 Feedback & Review' he goes through attendee comments. He turns down all-day coffee rather than raise ticket prices, and he agrees that the first day lacked the energy of a main-stage kickoff and welcome party. The Long Conversation replay has the most unusual format here: two people start talking, and every ten minutes one of them is tapped on the shoulder and replaced. The topic is whether IT and OT should converge, integrate or stay separate. One participant argues that OT across solar, wind, power plants and battery storage needs its own specialized team. Where to begin depends on the listener. The Rob Lee interview suits anyone after threat talk, the HD Moore conversation suits an interest in security history, and the two S4 episodes show the conference from the inside. Several episodes open with the same line from Peterson: 'This is very exciting.'