Design and build of OT security labs and centres of excellence.
Testing security controls on a live plant is rarely acceptable. A properly specified lab gives you somewhere to break things safely — to validate patches, rehearse incidents, train engineers and test vendor equipment before it reaches the field. We design and help build them, from a single test bench to a full centre of excellence.
- Design → build
- Turnkey delivery
- Test · train · assess
- Three functions
- Vendor-neutral
- No resale tie-in
Standards in scope
IEC 62443
The standard the lab tests against
Laboratory competence
Testing laboratory management requirements
Training curriculum
Capability development programme
Incident rehearsal
Exercise and simulation capability
What a credible lab has to support.
A lab is only worth the capital if it produces defensible results. We specify against the standards the lab exists to serve, and — where accreditation is the goal — against the requirements a laboratory itself must meet.
The standard the lab tests against
Test benches configured to exercise system and component requirements, security levels and the zone and conduit designs the lab is validating.
How we support you
- Test bench topology reflecting real plant architecture
- Representative zone and conduit configurations
- Test cases mapped to foundational requirements
- Component capability verification setup
- Patch and configuration validation workflow
- Repeatable, documented test procedures
Testing laboratory management requirements
Where the objective is a recognised or accredited testing capability, the lab needs documented competence, impartiality, method control and traceable records — not just equipment.
How we support you
- Quality management system design for the lab
- Method validation and documentation
- Competence, training and authorisation records
- Equipment calibration and configuration control
- Impartiality and confidentiality controls
- Readiness review ahead of accreditation assessment
Capability development programme
The teaching layer — structured exercises that take engineers from awareness through hands-on defence using the lab's equipment.
How we support you
- Curriculum design across skill levels
- Hands-on exercise and scenario library
- Attack and defence lab scenarios
- Instructor enablement and delivery guides
- Assessment and certification approach
- Refresh cycle for content and scenarios
Exercise and simulation capability
Using the lab to rehearse the incidents you hope never happen, with the plant teams who would actually respond.
How we support you
- Tabletop and technical exercise design
- Realistic attack scenario development
- Cross-team response rehearsal
- Observation and after-action reporting
- Playbook refinement from exercise findings
- Recurring exercise programme
What a lab engagement covers.
The same seven services run across every practice, so you can compare scope without re-learning the menu.
Risk assessment
Defining what the lab must be able to test, based on the risks in your real estate rather than a generic equipment list.
Advisory & consulting
Lab concept, scope and business case — what it is for, who uses it, what it costs to run, and how it pays for itself.
VA-PT & security testing
Standing up the testing capability itself: methods, tooling, evidence handling and repeatable procedures.
Compliance & audit readiness
Where accreditation or formal recognition is the goal, the management system and documentation that make it achievable.
Implementation support
Specification, vendor-neutral equipment selection, network design, build supervision and commissioning.
Security operations
Operating model — staffing, booking, configuration control and the cadence that stops a lab becoming a storeroom.
Training & capability
Curriculum, exercises and instructor enablement so the lab produces capability, not just utilisation figures.
What we typically specify
- Representative PLC, RTU and controller benches
- SCADA and HMI stations
- Protection relay and substation test setups
- Industrial network and firewall segments
- OT monitoring and asset discovery tooling
- Attack simulation and traffic generation
- Isolated internet and vendor access simulation
- Recording and evidence capture for exercises
What you receive
- Lab concept note and business case
- Functional and technical specification
- Vendor-neutral bill of materials with alternatives
- Network and rack design documentation
- Operating procedures and configuration baselines
- Training curriculum and exercise library
Planning an OT security lab or centre of excellence?
Tell us what you want it to do — testing, training, assessment or all three — and the space and budget available, and we will come back with a realistic specification.
