Derek Harp is happy to welcome Pascal Ackerman as his guest for today’s podcast!

Pascal is a security professional, focused on industrial control systems and he's currently the Sr Security Consultant for Operational Technology - Threat & Attack Simulation at GuidePoint Security. He has a Master’s of Science degree in Electrical Engineering (MSEE/CE). He has had 18 years of experience in industrial Ethernet design and support, information and network security, risk assessments, pen-testing, forensics, and threat hunting, WAN/LAN/Internet and Wireless Technologies, Windows Environments, Unix, Linux, IIS, and Apache.

He specialized in the architecture, engineering, and securing of plant-wide Ethernet networks using Purdue-model design strategies, IDS/IPS sensors, network monitoring, Security Information, and Event Management (SIEM) solutions, next-gen firewalls, MS domain services, WSUS servers, MS SQL server clusters, etc.

Pascal was born and raised in the Netherlands. Right after leaving high school, he was put behind a POC by a company that sent him out across the world installing prototype machinery for filling machines. He is an engineer, programmer, gamer, hacker, traveler, tinkerer, pen-tester, and father. 

In this episode of the (CS)²AI Podcast, he shares his superhero backstory and discusses his certifications, his education, and his career path. He also offers advice for those who would like to get into the field of cybersecurity and people thinking about writing a book.

If you are considering a career in cybersecurity or if you are an engineer and want to specialize in cyber security, you will gain a lot from this podcast! Stay tuned for more!

Show highlights:

• After leaving college, Pascal stayed with the company where he did his internship. The company got him to set up a software simulation to test their POC programs and later put him on their commissioning team. (6:51)
• Pascal talks about what he did while working as a controls engineer. (8:08)
• How Pascal got invited to move to the US to continue with his work. (9:50)
• Pascal explains how many doors opened for him after presenting his first report in 2005. (12:27)
• Pascal talks about how security measures first intersected with his work in 2008-2009. (14:07)
• Pascal pinpoints the moment when he decided to change his career path. (16:00)
• Pascal offers advice for traditional engineers who want to improve what they do and join the cyber security workforce. (17:35)
• A Network Plus certification will help controls engineers understand the fundamentals of networking. (18:19) 
• Pascal explains why he got hired as a commercial engineer in Network and Security at Rockwell. (21:16)
• Pascal talks about his book, Industrial Cybersecurity. (23:39)
• The book Hacking Exposed by Clint Bodungen inspired Pascal to write his first book. (27:50)
• How Threat GEN became a company based around a game Pascal developed. (29:10)
• Pascal offers advice on where people in IT who want to know more about safety, reliability, resiliency, and POCs can start. (32:36)
• The most successful companies have a combined IT and OT team with knowledgeable people on both sides. (36:43)
• Why do you need to figure out what you like the most and focus on that technology? (37:58)
• Architecture will be the next big step for monitoring everything. (45:06)
• Pascal discusses the process of writing his books and offers advice for those who would like to write a book. (45:49)

Links:

(CS)²AI

Pascal Ackerman on LinkedIn

Industrial Cybersecurity by Pascal Ackerman

Books mentioned:

Hacking Exposed by Clint Bodungen