Breakout Session | Private Networks, Public Safety: How Utilities Are Securing Critical Infrastructure from the Router to the Operations Layer
Date: Thursday, October 15th
Time: 10:20 am - 10:50 am
Location: Post Oak
This session explores how leading utilities are combining private network infrastructure with purpose-built cellular routers to build a grid edge that is isolated, authenticated, and resilient by design. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for evaluating where public network dependencies and unsecured edge devices exist in their current infrastructure, and what a phased approach to private network operations and grid edge security looks like in practice. The shift to private network infrastructure is the single most impactful step a utility can take to reduce its OT/ICS attack surface. But securing that network starts with rethinking the role of the cellular router itself. The router is not a modem that backhauls traffic - it is the grid edge. It is the mission-critical compute, policy enforcement, and safety layer where IoT and IT converge, where operational decisions are made in real time, and where a compromised device means lost visibility, lost control, and potential harm to the communities utilities serve. When utility operators move critical device communications off public networks and onto private LTE and 5G spectrum, they eliminate the most common entry points attackers use to reach PLCs and control systems. But private spectrum alone is not enough. The routers operating at the grid edge must be hardened with FIPS 140-3 validated cryptography, built to IEC 62443-aligned device architecture, and capable of enforcing security policy at the network edge - not just passing traffic through to a firewall somewhere upstream.
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Venue:
The Worthington Renaissance
200 Main St
Fort Worth, TX 76102
Innovation Zone Hours:
Wednesday, October 14: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Thursday, October 15: 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm