Free Defense Playbook

ICS Ransomware
Defense Playbook

A practical guide to protecting industrial control systems from ransomware attacks, with pre-attack hardening controls, OT-specific response procedures, and real-world lessons from Colonial Pipeline, Norsk Hydro, and more.

5Entry Path Breakdowns
4Real Incident Lessons
30+Hardening Controls
FreeNo Cost
Defense Playbook
ICS Ransomware Defense Playbook
  • How ransomware reaches ICS environments
  • Pre-attack hardening checklist (30+ controls)
  • OT-specific response procedures
  • Recovery and restoration framework
  • Colonial Pipeline, Norsk Hydro, JBS lessons
  • Arista Cyber ransomware defense services
Arista Cyber
Free Download

What is inside this playbook?

Written for OT security teams and operations managers who need to understand the real ransomware threat to industrial environments and build a defense that works without compromising operational safety.

01
Why ICS Is a High-Value Target
Why ransomware operators target OT environments, why downtime is worth more to attackers than stolen data, and what the Colonial Pipeline attack revealed about OT exposure.
02
How Ransomware Reaches ICS
The five most common entry paths into ICS environments: IT-to-OT lateral movement, remote access exploitation, USB introduction, supply chain compromise, and spear phishing of OT engineers.
03
Pre-Attack Hardening Checklist
A 30+ item hardening checklist across network segmentation, backup and recovery, endpoint hardening, and detection controls — organized to reduce both likelihood and impact of an attack.
04
Ransomware Response for OT
Step-by-step OT-specific response procedures for the first 2 hours, containment phase, and recovery sequencing — with the safety-first decision framework built in at every step.
05
Lessons from Real ICS Attacks
What Colonial Pipeline, Norsk Hydro, Oldsmar Water Treatment, and JBS Foods teach us about how ransomware reaches OT and how organizations responded.
06
How Arista Cyber Protects ICS
Our ransomware defense services: vulnerability assessment, IT/OT segmentation review, tabletop exercises, managed SOC for OT, and 24/7 IR retainer.
Suitable for
OT Security ManagersPlant and Site OperationsCISO and IT/OT TeamsRisk and Business Continuity OfficersOperations Leadership
OT Security SpecialistsServing oil and gas, energy, manufacturing
IEC 62443 and IEC 61511Cybersecurity meets functional safety
30+ PlaybooksFree resources for OT security teams
Training PlatformTUV Rheinland certified OT security courses