Cybersecurity Standards & Guidelines for Protecting Operations Technology

MxD is releasing Request for Proposal (RFP) to fund a project which explores the current landscape of OT equipment cybersecurity compliance standards and industry guidelines, identify best practices from these to summarize and simplify this information for the SMM audience, and demonstrate these practices in a playbook.

To support digital advancements in the manufacturing sector, connected factory floors breakdown the traditional barriers that used to exist between the IT infrastructure and OT equipment. This convergence of IT and OT creates a new landscape of cyber risk management that most organizations are not familiar with in comparison to more traditional IT cybersecurity practices. Despite a growing awareness of cyber vulnerabilities within OT systems and recent news headlines highlighting the impact that a cyber threat can cause an organization, many manufacturing organizations have not implemented proper OT cybersecurity measures. Specifically, within the small-to-medium manufacturing (SMM) community, the resources are not available to dedicate time or personnel to navigate the standards landscape and find proper guidance for their internal OT cybersecurity implementations.

The body of knowledge in OT cybersecurity is very extensive and hard to digest without a clear starting point. MxD is looking to leverage the existing cybersecurity knowledge in existing standards and guidelines with the purpose of providing simplified guidance to the manufacturing community without re-inventing the wheel or developing new cybersecurity standards.

Proposals must be submitted by teams; MxD membership is not required for submission but will be required prior to project award. To facilitate team formation, MxD will compile and disseminate contact information from parties interested in Team Formation during the first month of the proposal period. If you are interested in submitting your contact info to this distribution list, please email projects@mxdusa.org.

Note: All project work must be performed in the United States.
This project is a TIA Enterprise Project that requires a minimum of 1:1 cost share.

Please join MxD's community for a virtual Team Formation Opportunity on Tuesday, November 8th, 2022. The purpose of this event is to provide an opportunity for individuals and organizations to identify synergies between their proposal approaches. In addition, individuals and organizations will be able to share a snapshot of their solution to the Request for Proposals (RFP) and receive preliminary feedback from the MxD community.

It is highly encouraged, but not mandatory, to attend this event if you plan on submitting a proposal in response to the Cybersecurity Standards & Guidelines for Protecting Operations Technology RFP.