The recent Cyber in Manufacturing Lunch & Learn in Raleigh brought together students, cybersecurity professionals, manufacturing stakeholders, and educators for an immersive tabletop exercise focused on operational technology (OT) and industrial cybersecurity.
Hosted in partnership the North Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NCMEP), and Stern Security, this session moved beyond traditional presentations and placed participants directly into a simulated cyber-physical crisis affecting a manufacturing operation.
The exercise challenged teams to respond to:
- PLC and HMI anomalies
- Phishing and IT/OT crossover threats
- Ransomware impacting production systems
- Operational slowdowns
- Safety concerns
- Supplier pressure
- Leadership-level response decisions
Participants worked through escalating scenario injects while balancing production continuity, cybersecurity response, communication, and human safety. The tabletop was intentionally designed to force collaboration between IT, OT, operations, engineering, and leadership perspectives.
One of the strongest outcomes from the event was the level of engagement across the room. Small-team discussions quickly expanded into energetic cross-team collaboration and full-group analysis. Multiple experienced practitioners commented that it was the most effective tabletop experiences they had participated in.
Students were equally engaged and appreciative of the opportunity to work through a realistic operational technology incident scenario.
“In OT environments, decisions aren’t just about systems and uptime…they can affect human safety.” noted Debbie Asaye (Wake Tech).
Shaquale Carmichael (FTCC), described the event as a major shift in perspective regarding the realities of industrial cybersecurity. “One of the biggest takeaways for me was realizing just how large the gap can be between traditional IT environments and OT/manufacturing environments.”
The exercise exposed participants to realistic incident-response decision making involving ransomware, operational disruption, industrial control systems, and cross-functional communication under pressure. Participants also explored cybersecurity competencies connected to advanced manufacturing and OT security pathways.
The structure of the program proved especially effective because it compressed a meaningful operational experience into a focused two-hour session while maintaining continuous engagement and practical relevance throughout.
The event reinforced an important reality for modern organizations: manufacturing cybersecurity is operational risk management. Cyber incidents in industrial environments can impact:
- Worker safety
- Physical operations
- Production continuity
- Customer commitments
- Supply chains
- Business resilience
The tabletop exercise was crafted and facilitated by Rodney Cobb, instructor and SME at Cleveland Community College.
We are exploring opportunities to expand similar OT and manufacturing-focused tabletop exercises into additional regions across the state.
Organizations, colleges, manufacturers, and community partners interested in hosting or participating in future industrial cybersecurity tabletop experiences are encouraged to connect through the CCN network.
For inquiry information and partnership opportunities:
