Daniel Kapellmann Zafra

Threat Intelligence Analysis Manager at Google Mandiant

Analysis Manager for Google Mandiant where he oversees the strategic coverage of cyber physical threat intelligence and information operations. He also coordinates the development of solutions to collect and analyze data. He is a frequent speaker on ICS/OT topics at international conferences and collaborates as international liaison for the ICS Joint Working Group Steering Team from CISA. As a former Fulbright scholar from Mexico, he holds a master’s degree from the University of Washington specialized in Information Security and Risk Management. In 2017, he was awarded first place at Kaspersky Academy Talent Lab's competition for designing an application to address security beyond anti-virus.

10:00 - 10:30

Pallati i Kongreseve (The Palace of Congresses) Main Conference - 22 September

COSMICENERGY: The Renaissance of Threats to Operational Technology

For the last ten years we have seen a fast evolving operational technology (OT) security community learning about cyber physical attacks and how to defend critical infrastructure against them. However, since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, we have seen quite a twist in the OT threat landscape. A renaissance or breakthrough period of innovation is making threats to cyber physical systems more streamlined and common than ever before.

During the conflict, we have observed the intensification of threat activity coming from different fronts, including criminals, hacktivists, and nation-states. Such activity has resulted in a quick turnaround in the development of malware and capabilities to target OT systems. In this talk, I will provide an overview of the evolution of OT threats focusing primarily on the new capabilities we have observed since the eve of Ukraine’s invasion.