ICS Cybersecurity Conference Brings Back Hands-On Industrial Attack Training
A practical course on attacking and defending industrial control systems returns to Nashville this October, giving security professionals rare access to live hardware scenarios.
Key points
- SecurityWeek's ICS Cybersecurity Conference runs 6 to 8 October 2025 at the W Nashville.
- The Cyber Attack Methods course gives attendees hands-on practice against industrial control systems in a controlled setting.
- Industrial control systems, often called ICS, are the computerised systems that run power grids, water treatment plants, factories, and pipelines.
- The course returns after previous successful runs at the conference.
What is this conference and who is it for?
It is a specialist security event aimed at engineers and security staff who protect the physical infrastructure ordinary people depend on every day, from electricity to clean water.
SecurityWeek's ICS Cybersecurity Conference is one of the few events that focuses specifically on industrial control systems. These are not ordinary office computers. They are the specialised machines that open valves, spin turbines, and control factory floors. When they fail or get attacked, the consequences can be physical, not just digital.
The returning Cyber Attack Methods course sits inside that conference. Attendees get to practise real attack techniques against actual industrial hardware in a safe, supervised environment. That matters because most security training uses simulated software environments. Practising on real kit exposes weaknesses that simulations miss.
Why does industrial system security matter to ordinary people?
An attack on an office network might expose personal data. An attack on an industrial control system can cut the power, contaminate drinking water, or halt medicine production.
Criminals and state-sponsored hackers have shown growing interest in industrial targets over the past decade. The 2021 incident in Oldsmar, Florida, where an attacker briefly changed chemical levels in a water treatment plant, is one well-documented example of how exposed these systems can be. Security teams protecting this infrastructure need training that matches the real threat.
Hands-on courses like this one help close that gap. Defenders who have seen how an attack unfolds from the attacker's side are better placed to spot and stop one.
When and where is it happening?
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Event | ICS Cybersecurity Conference |
| Dates | 6 to 8 October 2025 |
| Venue | W Nashville, Nashville, Tennessee |
| Training format | Hands-on, live hardware |
| Organiser | SecurityWeek |
The W Nashville is a central venue familiar to the conference's regular attendees. No registration pricing was included in the available information.
For security teams responsible for operational technology, meaning the hardware and software that controls physical processes, this kind of training is increasingly hard to find. Most mainstream security courses focus on corporate IT networks. Industrial systems use different protocols, different hardware, and face different attack paths.
If your organisation runs any kind of physical infrastructure, even a building management system or a manufacturing line, sending staff to training that covers real industrial attack methods is a practical step. It is not a cure, but it builds the kind of situational awareness that makes a team harder to catch off guard.
