Cyber Process Hazard Analysis (Cyber PHA)
Evaluating cyber risk through the lens of process safety
Industrial incidents rarely come from a single technical failure. They usually develop through a combination of system behaviour, human action, and process conditions. As operational technology becomes more connected, cyber-related events now have the potential to trigger the same kinds of consequences traditionally associated with process hazards.
Cyber Process Hazard Analysis brings cybersecurity into established process safety practices. The analysis builds on familiar PHA techniques and looks at how cyber-related events could affect control systems, safety functions, and the physical process itself. The goal is not to replace existing safety work, but to add another layer that reflects how modern systems are actually used.
Traditional PHAs tend to concentrate on equipment faults, procedural weaknesses, and situations where operations move outside normal limits. Cyber PHA broadens that view by looking at how unauthorised access, deliberate misuse, or unintended digital changes could influence hazardous situations. This makes it easier to discuss cyber risk in terms of safety, production continuity, and operational reliability rather than as a purely technical issue.
When cybersecurity is considered as part of existing safety practices, teams are more likely to recognise digital risk early, before it develops into an operational incident.
CYBER PHA UNITES PROCESS SAFETY AND CYBERSECURITY BECAUSE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER IS INCOMPLETE.
Why Cyber PHA Matters
Control systems are involved in almost every part of industrial operations, from routine production to emergency response. When those systems are affected, the impact is rarely limited to data loss or screen visibility alone.
If a controller, safety system, or operator interface is disturbed, the effects are not always obvious at first. Actions may be carried out incorrectly, responses may slow down, or protective functions may not behave as expected. Depending on when this occurs and what the process is doing at the time, the outcome can range from equipment damage to extended downtime or safety incidents.
Cyber PHA helps organisations recognise where cyber-related issues overlap with known process hazards. Rather than separating cybersecurity from process safety, it examines both together using an approach that engineering and safety teams are already familiar with.
This shared view makes discussions between operations, safety, engineering, and security teams more effective. It also helps ensure that mitigation work is driven by actual safety and operational impact, instead of being based only on technical severity.
Cyber PHA unites process safety and cybersecurity because one without the other is incomplete.
Key Advantages
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1. Identify cyber threats linked to process hazards.
The analysis highlights where cyber events could initiate hazards, weaken safeguards, or interfere with protective functions. -
2. Bring cybersecurity into process safety management.
Rather than introducing a separate exercise, cyber considerations are worked into existing PHA activities using methods teams already rely on. -
3. Set priorities based on operational reality.
Focus is placed on situations that could genuinely affect safety, production continuity, or equipment reliability. -
4. Support practical decisions.
Cyber risk is discussed using the same terms, references, and process context that safety and operations teams work with every day.
Deliverables
The outputs from a Cyber PHA are designed to sit alongside current safety and risk management work, not replace it.
1.Cyber PHA Report
A report outlining cyber-related hazard scenarios, how they might develop within the process, and what the resulting consequences could be.
2.Risk Evaluation and Findings
Each scenario is examined by looking at how likely it is to occur and what the outcome would be, taking existing safeguards and normal operating conditions into account.
3.Recommended Risk Reduction Measures
Risk reduction actions are proposed with practicality in mind. These may involve technical adjustments, procedural changes, or updates to how work is routinely carried out.
4.Integration with Existing Safety Programs
Findings are connected back to existing PHA, HAZOP, LOPA, or safety documentation so they can be incorporated without adding new layers of process or administration.
Our Approach
Cyber PHA works best when it builds on methods teams are already comfortable with. The approach follows established process hazard analysis practices and introduces cyber considerations in a way that aligns with normal engineering and safety work.
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1.Map OT Systems to Critical Process Operations
The work starts by understanding how control systems, safety functions, and operator interfaces support critical process steps. This makes it clear where cyber-related issues could influence process behaviour. -
2.Identify Cyber-Related Hazard Scenarios
Cyber-related scenarios are explored in relation to process deviations, safety functions, and abnormal operating conditions that already concern operations teams. -
3.Assess Likelihood and Consequence
Scenarios are reviewed based on how likely they are to occur and what the outcome would be, taking safety and operational impact into account. -
4.Develop Practical Recommendations
Recommendations are developed with existing processes, maintenance routines, and change-management practices in mind.
Operations, safety, and engineering teams are involved throughout the analysis to ensure findings remain practical and usable.
Industries We Support
OT environments differ from one industry to another, but the need for reliable asset visibility remains constant. We support organisations operating in:
- Energy and Utilities
- Oil and Gas, both upstream and downstream operations
- Manufacturing and Automotive
- Pharmaceutical Production
- Transportation and Logistics Systems
Outcomes and Benefits
Cyber PHA helps organisations move away from abstract cyber discussions and toward a clearer understanding of how digital risk can affect physical processes.
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1. Reduced operational and safety risk
Cyber-related threats are addressed before they contribute to hazardous situations. -
2. Clearer prioritisation of mitigation efforts
Resources are focused on issues that matter most to safety and reliability. -
3. Stronger alignment between safety and security teams
A shared analysis improves communication and accountability. -
4. Improved confidence in risk management decisions
Leadership gains clearer visibility into how cyber risk is being addressed within existing safety frameworks.
Strengthen Process Safety in a Connected Environment
As industrial environments become more digital, treating cybersecurity and process safety as separate topics increases risk. Cyber Process Hazard Analysis brings these disciplines together using methods teams are already familiar with.
By looking at cyber risk through a process safety lens, organisations can strengthen protection of people, assets, and operations without making safety management more complex.
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