PwC Opens Cyber Security Experience Centre in Israel

PwC Opens Cyber Security Experience Centre in Israel
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PwC has opened a global Cyber Security Experience Centre in Be'er Sheva, Israel, dedicated to Industrial Control Systems (ICS) & Operations Technology Security.

Operational Technology (OT), the use of information technology to control physical processes, devices and infrastructure, is taking centre stage in the global cyber security arena. Industry insiders broadly expect that in the coming years, the most significant impact in cyber security globally will be around national critical infrastructures and industrial enterprise OT Security.

In 2018, as a response to the growing need for state-of-the-art services in both the public and the private sector, PwC launched a global Cyber Security Centre of Excellence for critical infrastructure protection and OT Security in Israel. It is dedicated to helping governments and multinational industrial companies around the world manage this critical and complex part of the cyber security landscape.

As part of this effort, a unique Cyber Security Experience Centre (CSEC) was built in Be'er Sheva, Israel. The CSEC is considered the first of its kind in the world and replicates an integrated critical infrastructure ecosystem. Featuring scaled down kinetic models of operational technology, they are all connected to physical PLCs and ICS/SCADA networks, operating within a fully integrated cyber security framework.

The sectors currently featured at the centre include cyber-kinetic modules of electricity production, railway transportation, oil & petrochemical refining, natural gas distribution, pharmaceutical manufacturing, smart buildings, defence drones and physical security and IoT. The kinetic modules operate within a highly sophisticated cyber security framework, which allows experimenting with both offensive and defensive cyber security methodologies and technologies. This allows people  to truly experience what a cyber attack on their facility looks like, and what various protection mechanisms could do to prevent it.

The location of the new centre allows PwC to tap into the bustling technology innovation ecosystem in Israel, and continuously identify game-changing cyber security technologies that could be integrated into PwC's cyber security framework.