In this episode of Simply ICS Cyber, Don and Tom welcome Sam Blaney, retired Chief Warrant Officer (CW3) from the Georgia National Guard and current cybersecurity professor at the University of North Georgia.

Sam shares insights from his career building and leading Cyber Protection Team 170, his transition into teaching, and his continued work helping state and local governments strengthen cybersecurity.

The conversation digs into Sam’s recent experience coaching students at the Department of Energy CyberForce Competition, where the University of North Georgia team defended a simulated offshore drilling platform with both IT and OT components.

Sam discusses what made the event realistic, how students approached identity and access management, OT network analysis, and what they learned about preparation, tooling, and industrial control system challenges.

The group also explores:

- Effective defense preparation for cyber competitions
- Building and tuning SIEM tools for constrained environments
- The value of exercises like CCDC and CyberShield
- How multidisciplinary tabletops improve communication across organizations
- The increasing role of AI in attack and defense, including the Anthropic AI-assisted malware research
- Concerns about AI-driven automation, skill multiplier effects, and the importance of understanding fundamentals

Resources:

Sam Blaney: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samblaney65/
University of North Georgia: https://ung.edu/DOE
CyberForce Program: https://cyberforce.energy.gov/
US CyberCom: https://www.cybercom.mil/
National Guard Cyber Defense Team: https://www.nationalguard.mil/Portals/31/Resources/Fact%20Sheets/Cyber%20Defense%20Team%202022.pdf
National Guard CyberShield: https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/CyberShield25
Anthropic Malware Write-up: https://www.anthropic.com/news/disrupting-AI-espionage

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👉 Subscribe to Simply ICS Cyber for more expert-driven conversations on ICS/OT security, critical infrastructure protection, and emerging cyber threats.

Connect with your hosts on LinkedIn:
- Don https://linkedin.com/in/cutaway
- Tom https://linkedin.com/in/thomasvannorman

Learn about ICS Village: https://www.linkedin.com/company/icsvillage
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Simply Cyber empowers people who want a rewarding cybersecurity career
=========================
Presented by Simply Cyber Media Group
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All the ways to connect with Simply Cyber
https://SimplyCyber.io/Socials

The growing need for visibility and response in industrial environments is driving more organizations to consider ICS/OT Security Operations Centers — but what does that actually look like for small and medium-sized operations?

In this episode of Simply ICS Cyber, Don and Tom sit down with Dan Gunter, CEO and founder of Insane Cyber, to discuss how ICS/OT SOCs function, what data truly matters for monitoring, and how incident response changes when operators have (or don’t have) the right information at hand.

Drawing on experience from the Air Force CERT to founding an OT-focused security company, Dan shares a practical look at the realities of SOC implementation across industries — from utilities with limited staff to large-scale enterprises managing thousands of assets.

Listeners will gain insight into how to start building visibility, selecting the right MSSP partners, and managing SOC fatigue — all while keeping industrial operations safe and resilient.

⚙️ Tune in to learn how data, process, and people come together to make ICS/OT SOCs work in the real world.

Connect with Dan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-gunter

👉 Subscribe to Simply ICS Cyber for more expert-driven conversations on ICS/OT security, critical infrastructure protection, and emerging cyber threats.

Connect with your hosts on LinkedIn:
- Don https://linkedin.com/in/cutaway
- Tom https://linkedin.com/in/thomasvannorman

Learn about ICS Village: https://www.linkedin.com/company/icsvillage
=========================
Simply Cyber empowers people who want a rewarding cybersecurity career
=========================
Presented by Simply Cyber Media Group
=========================
All the ways to connect with Simply Cyber
https://SimplyCyber.io/Socials

The industrial threat landscape never stands still — and neither can defenders. In this episode of Simply ICS Cyber, Don and Tom sit down with Joe Slowik, a globally recognized expert in cyber threat intelligence (CTI), detection engineering, and incident response for ICS, OT, and critical infrastructure environments.

With over 15 years of experience spanning offensive operations, threat research, and leadership roles in both government and private sectors, Joe brings an unparalleled perspective on how adversaries target industrial systems — and how defenders can stay ahead.

Listeners will hear how Joe’s work connects cutting-edge artificial intelligence and detection development with the real-world challenges of protecting operational environments. His insights reveal where the next evolution of ICS threat intelligence is headed — and what teams should focus on now to stay resilient.

⚙️ Tune in to learn how threat intelligence is evolving across industrial control systems and what it takes to keep pace in a rapidly changing landscape.

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: Joe Slowik
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-slowik

👉 Subscribe to Simply ICS Cyber for more expert-driven conversations on ICS/OT security, critical infrastructure protection, and emerging cyber threats.

Connect with your hosts on LinkedIn:
- Don https://linkedin.com/in/cutaway
- Tom https://linkedin.com/in/thomasvannorman

Learn about ICS Village: https://www.linkedin.com/company/icsvillage
=========================
Simply Cyber empowers people who want a rewarding cybersecurity career
=========================
Presented by Simply Cyber Media Group
=========================
All the ways to connect with Simply Cyber
https://SimplyCyber.io/Socials