𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗘𝗥𝗧 𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗧 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗱, 𝗣𝗮𝗸𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻 – The National Cyber Emergency Response Team (National CERT) conducted an interactive training session in collaboration with its Technology Partner, OT Associates for the participants of its Summer Internship Program 2026, strengthening their exposure to industry perspectives and real-world cybersecurity practices.

The session on “OT Security,” delivered by Mr. Muhammad Qasim Cheema, CEO, OT Associates, highlighted five core principles: Safety & Uptime First, prioritizing operational safety over secrecy; Master the OT Loop, understanding the sense-decide-act cycle across sectors; Separate IT & OT, using segmentation to prevent cyber incidents from causing physical harm; Secure the Basics, addressing exposure, weak passwords, flat networks, and poor monitoring; and Build OT Resilience, through asset visibility, segmentation, monitoring, and recovery, aligned with ISA/IEC 62443. The session gave interns practical insights into securing critical OT systems and infrastructure, emphasizing that in OT, a breach can compromise not only data, but physical reality.

The engagement reflects National CERT’s commitment to bridging young cybersecurity talent with industry, enabling interns to learn directly from experienced practitioners and gain a deeper understanding of professional cybersecurity environments. The interns participated with keen interest and actively engaged with the trainer throughout the session, demonstrating their enthusiasm to strengthen their technical knowledge and practical understanding of OT security.