ABOUT THIS EPISODE
From Army Engineer to Critical Infrastructure Security with Marcus Sachs
Marcus Sachs, SVP and Chief Engineer at the Center for Internet Security, joins Derek Harp for a long-overdue conversation about how a civil engineer in the Army ended up securing critical infrastructure. Marcus traces his path from an unusual start across Alabama, Pakistan and Germany, through ROTC and the Army Engineers, to the events of the mid-1990s that gave rise to the formal term "critical infrastructure." He explains what Y2K taught the military about inventory and interdependencies, how far OT security has come since SCADA was the term of art, and the advice he would give people entering the field today. They close with the Enigma machines he brings to Level Zero and why technology alone never covers all the bases.
Guest: Marcus Sachs, SVP and Chief Engineer, Center for Internet Security Host: Derek Harp, Founder and Chairman, (CS)²AI
Chapters: 00:42 Welcome and introducing Marcus Sachs 02:24 An unusual starting point: Alabama, Pakistan and Germany 05:53 ROTC, the Cold War and early hacking in Germany 09:30 Choosing engineering and the Army Engineers 14:59 Fort Belvoir: staying behind to fix things 20:00 Physics, culture and new technology in OT 22:48 From civil engineering to cyberspace 27:31 Oklahoma City, PDD 63 and critical infrastructure 31:00 The 1998 intrusion, Y2K and the great inventory 35:48 How far OT security has come 40:51 Crossing paths: a Navy flagship and Haiti 42:34 Advice for people entering the field 51:20 Enigma machines and mechanical encryption 54:39 People, process and technology: the work never ends 56:36 Closing thoughts and thanks
Produced by (CS)²AI (Control System Cyber Security Association International).
