Use case
ICS Incident Response & Forensics
Industry: Critical Infrastructure (Energy)
When an OT incident hits the energy grid, it isn’t just an IT outage - it’s a potential blackout, a public-safety event and a regulatory crisis. Shieldworkz delivers an industrial-native Incident Response & Forensics capability engineered for power generation, transmission and distribution environments. Our approach pairs protocol-aware detection, time-synced forensic capture, and OT-safe containment with expert incident response services so utilities restore operations fast, prove what happened, and harden against recurrence.
The operational realities utilities face
Energy networks run 24/7 on a mix of legacy DCS/SCADA, modern IIoT telemetry and ruggedized protection devices (IEDs, RTUs, protection relays, turbine controllers). Complexity and safety imperatives constrain how tools can interact with control systems: active scanning or blunt remediation risks tripping relays, upsetting control loops, or violating safety certifications. Meanwhile, IT/OT convergence, third-party access, and nation-state targeting increase the probability and impact of incidents. Utilities need forensic-grade evidence collection that respects availability and safety.
Threat landscape & regulatory pressure
Key threat vectors in energy operations include:
Lateral movement from IT to OT via compromised engineering workstations or VPN credentials.
Supply-chain and firmware tampering introduced during vendor maintenance or firmware updates.
Targeted disruptive malware and ransomware aimed at HMIs, historians, and operator consoles.
Insider or privileged misuse altering PLC logic or protection setpoints.
Telemetry manipulation and false data injection impacting automated control and protection decisions.
Regulators and standards require defensible incident handling and demonstrable evidence collection. Effective IR must preserve chain-of-custody, generate audit-quality artifacts, and map actions to control-system safety and compliance requirements.
Real-world attack scenarios
concrete use cases
Our guide distills complex concepts into actionable insights, empowering you to conduct a thorough OT cybersecurity gap analysis. Here are the key takeaways:
1. Substation lateral escalation
An attacker uses stolen vendor credentials to reach a substation engineering station, then leverages a known PLC exploit to inject spurious commands. Shieldworkz detects anomalous protocol sequences, freezes the offending session, and instruments an immediate micro-segmentation to stop propagation while operations continue.
2. Silent logic alteration at a gas turbine plant
A malicious or accidental change to ladder logic causes intermittent overspeed events. Shieldworkz compares the live PLC logic to a validated “golden image,” identifies unauthorized changes, and produces a time-stamped change log and memory snapshot for root-cause analysis and regulatory briefing.
3. Compromised firmware in distributed renewable inverters
A supplier-pushed firmware contains a beaconing backdoor. Shieldworkz flags the new outbound behavior, captures packet-level evidence, and supports coordinated rollback and patch orchestration with the OEM under controlled maintenance windows
How Shieldworkz detects ICS incidents
Detection is industrial first:
Protocol-aware DPI and behavioral baselining - we parse Modbus, DNP3, IEC 61850, IEC 60870, EtherNet/IP and other ICS protocols to detect malformed commands, unauthorized writes, and sequence deviations that generic IT systems miss.
Time-synced correlation - network telemetry, PLC events, HMI actions and historian records are aligned to a single timeline so investigators can see the exact causal chain.
Endpoint telemetry on validated nodes - where deployable, lightweight agents augment network visibility with process and file integrity data from engineering workstations and validated servers.
Threat intelligence + TTP mapping - alerts are prioritized by likely attacker techniques and mapped to operational impact to reduce false positives.
Forensics & evidence preservation
Shieldworkz offers tiered, Shieldworkz captures forensic artifacts without jeopardizing operations: immutable session logs, packet captures (PCAPs) for relevant time windows, PLC memory dumps, firmware hash snapshots and HMI screen recordings (where policy permits). Every artifact is cryptographically timestamped and catalogued to preserve chain-of-custody for regulatory reporting, insurer engagements, and criminal investigations. -aware remediation paths:
OT-safe response
containment that preserves availability
Our response model is tiered and safety-centric:
Non-disruptive containment - dynamic segmentation and flow throttling isolate suspicious devices while allowing critical control loops to operate.
Guided remediation playbooks - ICS-specific runbooks sequence investigator actions to avoid unsafe control states.
Controlled rollback & recovery - validated code/logic restoration using golden images and staged reintroduction of assets.
SOC/Plant ops integration - bi-directional integrations with enterprise SIEM and ticketing maintain enterprise visibility while plant engineers retain final, safety-first control.
Platform capabilities & deployment patterns
Shieldworkz is flexible to utility constraints:
Passive monitoring with optional minimally intrusive queries tailored by device family.
Edge collectors for remote substations and microgrids with intermittent connectivity and low bandwidth.
On-prem, hybrid, or fully managed IR retainer models to meet air-gap and compliance requirements.
APIs for evidence export, case management and regulator reporting to simplify audits and post-incident reviews.
Services that accelerate recovery & maturity
We combine tooling with specialist services: 24/7 incident response retainer, on-site IR and forensics, threat hunting tuned to grid TTPs, playbook development and cross-functional tabletop exercises that rehearse SOC, NOC and plant operations coordination.
Measurable outcomes for energy operators
Shieldworkz customers realize concrete operational gains: faster containment and shorter outage windows, reduced mean-time-to-detect (MTTD) and mean-time-to-recover (MTTR), defensible audit artifacts for regulators and insurers, and hardened post-incident state with fewer repeat incidents. Typical KPIs: MTTD reduction, MTTR reduction, regulatory reporting time, and percentage reduction in lateral-movement pathways.
Ready to build resilient incident response for your grid?
When seconds matter and safety is non-negotiable, you need an ICS incident response partner that speaks both control-systems engineering and forensic science. Book a free consultation with Shieldworkz experts to evaluate your IR readiness, review sample forensic artifacts from real incidents, and create a practical plan to detect, contain and prove remediation without risking uptime.
Book your free ICS Incident Response review - restore operations faster and prove what happened with Shieldworkz.
Book Your Consultation Today!
When an OT incident hits the energy grid, it isn’t just an IT outage - it’s a potential blackout, a public-safety event and a regulatory crisis. Shieldworkz delivers an industrial-native Incident Response & Forensics capability engineered for power generation, transmission and distribution environments. Our approach pairs protocol-aware detection, time-synced forensic capture, and OT-safe containment with expert incident response services so utilities restore operations fast, prove what happened, and harden against recurrence.
The operational realities utilities face
Energy networks run 24/7 on a mix of legacy DCS/SCADA, modern IIoT telemetry and ruggedized protection devices (IEDs, RTUs, protection relays, turbine controllers). Complexity and safety imperatives constrain how tools can interact with control systems: active scanning or blunt remediation risks tripping relays, upsetting control loops, or violating safety certifications. Meanwhile, IT/OT convergence, third-party access, and nation-state targeting increase the probability and impact of incidents. Utilities need forensic-grade evidence collection that respects availability and safety.
Threat landscape & regulatory pressure
Key threat vectors in energy operations include:
Lateral movement from IT to OT via compromised engineering workstations or VPN credentials.
Supply-chain and firmware tampering introduced during vendor maintenance or firmware updates.
Targeted disruptive malware and ransomware aimed at HMIs, historians, and operator consoles.
Insider or privileged misuse altering PLC logic or protection setpoints.
Telemetry manipulation and false data injection impacting automated control and protection decisions.
Regulators and standards require defensible incident handling and demonstrable evidence collection. Effective IR must preserve chain-of-custody, generate audit-quality artifacts, and map actions to control-system safety and compliance requirements.
Real-world attack scenarios
concrete use cases
Our guide distills complex concepts into actionable insights, empowering you to conduct a thorough OT cybersecurity gap analysis. Here are the key takeaways:
1. Substation lateral escalation
An attacker uses stolen vendor credentials to reach a substation engineering station, then leverages a known PLC exploit to inject spurious commands. Shieldworkz detects anomalous protocol sequences, freezes the offending session, and instruments an immediate micro-segmentation to stop propagation while operations continue.
2. Silent logic alteration at a gas turbine plant
A malicious or accidental change to ladder logic causes intermittent overspeed events. Shieldworkz compares the live PLC logic to a validated “golden image,” identifies unauthorized changes, and produces a time-stamped change log and memory snapshot for root-cause analysis and regulatory briefing.
3. Compromised firmware in distributed renewable inverters
A supplier-pushed firmware contains a beaconing backdoor. Shieldworkz flags the new outbound behavior, captures packet-level evidence, and supports coordinated rollback and patch orchestration with the OEM under controlled maintenance windows
How Shieldworkz detects ICS incidents
Detection is industrial first:
Protocol-aware DPI and behavioral baselining - we parse Modbus, DNP3, IEC 61850, IEC 60870, EtherNet/IP and other ICS protocols to detect malformed commands, unauthorized writes, and sequence deviations that generic IT systems miss.
Time-synced correlation - network telemetry, PLC events, HMI actions and historian records are aligned to a single timeline so investigators can see the exact causal chain.
Endpoint telemetry on validated nodes - where deployable, lightweight agents augment network visibility with process and file integrity data from engineering workstations and validated servers.
Threat intelligence + TTP mapping - alerts are prioritized by likely attacker techniques and mapped to operational impact to reduce false positives.
Forensics & evidence preservation
Shieldworkz offers tiered, Shieldworkz captures forensic artifacts without jeopardizing operations: immutable session logs, packet captures (PCAPs) for relevant time windows, PLC memory dumps, firmware hash snapshots and HMI screen recordings (where policy permits). Every artifact is cryptographically timestamped and catalogued to preserve chain-of-custody for regulatory reporting, insurer engagements, and criminal investigations. -aware remediation paths:
OT-safe response
containment that preserves availability
Our response model is tiered and safety-centric:
Non-disruptive containment - dynamic segmentation and flow throttling isolate suspicious devices while allowing critical control loops to operate.
Guided remediation playbooks - ICS-specific runbooks sequence investigator actions to avoid unsafe control states.
Controlled rollback & recovery - validated code/logic restoration using golden images and staged reintroduction of assets.
SOC/Plant ops integration - bi-directional integrations with enterprise SIEM and ticketing maintain enterprise visibility while plant engineers retain final, safety-first control.
Platform capabilities & deployment patterns
Shieldworkz is flexible to utility constraints:
Passive monitoring with optional minimally intrusive queries tailored by device family.
Edge collectors for remote substations and microgrids with intermittent connectivity and low bandwidth.
On-prem, hybrid, or fully managed IR retainer models to meet air-gap and compliance requirements.
APIs for evidence export, case management and regulator reporting to simplify audits and post-incident reviews.
Services that accelerate recovery & maturity
We combine tooling with specialist services: 24/7 incident response retainer, on-site IR and forensics, threat hunting tuned to grid TTPs, playbook development and cross-functional tabletop exercises that rehearse SOC, NOC and plant operations coordination.
Measurable outcomes for energy operators
Shieldworkz customers realize concrete operational gains: faster containment and shorter outage windows, reduced mean-time-to-detect (MTTD) and mean-time-to-recover (MTTR), defensible audit artifacts for regulators and insurers, and hardened post-incident state with fewer repeat incidents. Typical KPIs: MTTD reduction, MTTR reduction, regulatory reporting time, and percentage reduction in lateral-movement pathways.
Ready to build resilient incident response for your grid?
When seconds matter and safety is non-negotiable, you need an ICS incident response partner that speaks both control-systems engineering and forensic science. Book a free consultation with Shieldworkz experts to evaluate your IR readiness, review sample forensic artifacts from real incidents, and create a practical plan to detect, contain and prove remediation without risking uptime.
Book your free ICS Incident Response review - restore operations faster and prove what happened with Shieldworkz.
Book Your Consultation Today!
When an OT incident hits the energy grid, it isn’t just an IT outage - it’s a potential blackout, a public-safety event and a regulatory crisis. Shieldworkz delivers an industrial-native Incident Response & Forensics capability engineered for power generation, transmission and distribution environments. Our approach pairs protocol-aware detection, time-synced forensic capture, and OT-safe containment with expert incident response services so utilities restore operations fast, prove what happened, and harden against recurrence.
The operational realities utilities face
Energy networks run 24/7 on a mix of legacy DCS/SCADA, modern IIoT telemetry and ruggedized protection devices (IEDs, RTUs, protection relays, turbine controllers). Complexity and safety imperatives constrain how tools can interact with control systems: active scanning or blunt remediation risks tripping relays, upsetting control loops, or violating safety certifications. Meanwhile, IT/OT convergence, third-party access, and nation-state targeting increase the probability and impact of incidents. Utilities need forensic-grade evidence collection that respects availability and safety.
Threat landscape & regulatory pressure
Key threat vectors in energy operations include:
Lateral movement from IT to OT via compromised engineering workstations or VPN credentials.
Supply-chain and firmware tampering introduced during vendor maintenance or firmware updates.
Targeted disruptive malware and ransomware aimed at HMIs, historians, and operator consoles.
Insider or privileged misuse altering PLC logic or protection setpoints.
Telemetry manipulation and false data injection impacting automated control and protection decisions.
Regulators and standards require defensible incident handling and demonstrable evidence collection. Effective IR must preserve chain-of-custody, generate audit-quality artifacts, and map actions to control-system safety and compliance requirements.
Real-world attack scenarios
concrete use cases
Our guide distills complex concepts into actionable insights, empowering you to conduct a thorough OT cybersecurity gap analysis. Here are the key takeaways:
1. Substation lateral escalation
An attacker uses stolen vendor credentials to reach a substation engineering station, then leverages a known PLC exploit to inject spurious commands. Shieldworkz detects anomalous protocol sequences, freezes the offending session, and instruments an immediate micro-segmentation to stop propagation while operations continue.
2. Silent logic alteration at a gas turbine plant
A malicious or accidental change to ladder logic causes intermittent overspeed events. Shieldworkz compares the live PLC logic to a validated “golden image,” identifies unauthorized changes, and produces a time-stamped change log and memory snapshot for root-cause analysis and regulatory briefing.
3. Compromised firmware in distributed renewable inverters
A supplier-pushed firmware contains a beaconing backdoor. Shieldworkz flags the new outbound behavior, captures packet-level evidence, and supports coordinated rollback and patch orchestration with the OEM under controlled maintenance windows
How Shieldworkz detects ICS incidents
Detection is industrial first:
Protocol-aware DPI and behavioral baselining - we parse Modbus, DNP3, IEC 61850, IEC 60870, EtherNet/IP and other ICS protocols to detect malformed commands, unauthorized writes, and sequence deviations that generic IT systems miss.
Time-synced correlation - network telemetry, PLC events, HMI actions and historian records are aligned to a single timeline so investigators can see the exact causal chain.
Endpoint telemetry on validated nodes - where deployable, lightweight agents augment network visibility with process and file integrity data from engineering workstations and validated servers.
Threat intelligence + TTP mapping - alerts are prioritized by likely attacker techniques and mapped to operational impact to reduce false positives.
Forensics & evidence preservation
Shieldworkz offers tiered, Shieldworkz captures forensic artifacts without jeopardizing operations: immutable session logs, packet captures (PCAPs) for relevant time windows, PLC memory dumps, firmware hash snapshots and HMI screen recordings (where policy permits). Every artifact is cryptographically timestamped and catalogued to preserve chain-of-custody for regulatory reporting, insurer engagements, and criminal investigations. -aware remediation paths:
OT-safe response
containment that preserves availability
Our response model is tiered and safety-centric:
Non-disruptive containment - dynamic segmentation and flow throttling isolate suspicious devices while allowing critical control loops to operate.
Guided remediation playbooks - ICS-specific runbooks sequence investigator actions to avoid unsafe control states.
Controlled rollback & recovery - validated code/logic restoration using golden images and staged reintroduction of assets.
SOC/Plant ops integration - bi-directional integrations with enterprise SIEM and ticketing maintain enterprise visibility while plant engineers retain final, safety-first control.
Platform capabilities & deployment patterns
Shieldworkz is flexible to utility constraints:
Passive monitoring with optional minimally intrusive queries tailored by device family.
Edge collectors for remote substations and microgrids with intermittent connectivity and low bandwidth.
On-prem, hybrid, or fully managed IR retainer models to meet air-gap and compliance requirements.
APIs for evidence export, case management and regulator reporting to simplify audits and post-incident reviews.
Services that accelerate recovery & maturity
We combine tooling with specialist services: 24/7 incident response retainer, on-site IR and forensics, threat hunting tuned to grid TTPs, playbook development and cross-functional tabletop exercises that rehearse SOC, NOC and plant operations coordination.
Measurable outcomes for energy operators
Shieldworkz customers realize concrete operational gains: faster containment and shorter outage windows, reduced mean-time-to-detect (MTTD) and mean-time-to-recover (MTTR), defensible audit artifacts for regulators and insurers, and hardened post-incident state with fewer repeat incidents. Typical KPIs: MTTD reduction, MTTR reduction, regulatory reporting time, and percentage reduction in lateral-movement pathways.
Ready to build resilient incident response for your grid?
When seconds matter and safety is non-negotiable, you need an ICS incident response partner that speaks both control-systems engineering and forensic science. Book a free consultation with Shieldworkz experts to evaluate your IR readiness, review sample forensic artifacts from real incidents, and create a practical plan to detect, contain and prove remediation without risking uptime.
Book your free ICS Incident Response review - restore operations faster and prove what happened with Shieldworkz.
