ICS/SCADA › Module 3 › Lesson 2
Safety First
Safety-first literacy names process safety, physical harm, and interlock integrity above convenience on YOUR $OT_LAB — defensive OT literacy only; no real-plant attacks, unauthorized OT scans, or exploit cookbooks.
Visual · t38_safety_first
Safety First literacy. $OT_LAB only. Original Cyberlium.
Opening
In OT, security that ignores safety can kill — literacy puts safety interlocks and process hazards first.
Process safety systems, emergency stops, and interlocks protect people and equipment. Defenders coordinate with operations before changes that could disable safety functions — practice escalation sentences on lab scenarios only. Cyberlium Topic 38 practices on $OT_LAB — YOUR fictional OT templates, zone diagrams, and labeled checklists under $HOME/cyberlium-lab/t38-ot/ no real-plant attacks, unauthorized OT scans, or exploit cookbooks. Next: Availability Bias.
1. What Safety First covers (named)
Safety literacy: SIS boundaries, E-stop integrity, lockout/tagout coordination, hazard analysis references. Security changes must not bypass interlocks without formal MOC. On $OT_LAB, document literacy rows on fictional LAB-OT-001 — never live plant IPs, credentials, or exploit steps.
Write safety boundary row — what security must never disable on fictional plant. Escalate to OT operations for any safety-adjacent change. On $OT_LAB, document literacy rows on fictional LAB-OT-001 — never live plant IPs, credentials, or exploit steps.
Command guide
Try these commands — What Safety First covers (named)
═══ TOOLS & WEBSITES ═══ Browse / read these (authorized learning only — stay in YOUR lab / program scope)
CISA ICS — https://www.cisa.gov/topics/industrial-control-systems NIST SP 800-82 — https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-82/rev-3/final
═══ INSTALL ═══
Linux (Debian/Ubuntu):
Command — copy this
sudo apt install python3
macOS:
Command — copy this
brew install python3
Windows: Download https://python.org/downloads/
═══ LINUX / macOS ═══
Command — copy this
export OT_LAB=${OT_LAB:-$HOME/cyberlium-lab/t38-ot}
cat > "$OT_LAB/notes/safety-first.txt" <<'EOF'
Safety-first — NAMED:
Never disable safety interlocks/SIS for unauthorized tests
Escalate to OT operations before changes affecting process safety
E-stop integrity is non-negotiable
Lab: write escalation sentence for fictional scenario only
EOFCommand — copy this
grep -E 'Never disable|Escalate|E-stop' "$OT_LAB/notes/safety-first.txt"
Primary tools to practice this lesson: grep, python3. Reference sites: CISA ICS (https://www.cisa.gov/topics/industrial-control-systems); NIST SP 800-82 (https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/detail/sp/800-82/rev-3/final). Run every command in the box — install first, then the usage lines — only on YOUR lab / program scope.
2. Why Safety First matters for defenders
Tripping a safety function during 'security testing' is unacceptable. Document coordination channels in incident playbooks. On $OT_LAB, document literacy rows on fictional LAB-OT-001 — never live plant IPs, credentials, or exploit steps.
Students practice safety escalation sentences on lab notes. Production follows process safety management programs. On $OT_LAB, document literacy rows on fictional LAB-OT-001 — never live plant IPs, credentials, or exploit steps.
3. $OT_LAB boundary
Forbidden: disabling interlocks for pentest demos on live equipment. Allowed: safety-first literacy card with escalation sentence. On $OT_LAB, document literacy rows on fictional LAB-OT-001 — never live plant IPs, credentials, or exploit steps.
Ship: safety boundary card. Next: Availability Bias.
4. What you ship: safety first card for $OT_LAB
Safety-first literacy names process safety, physical harm, and interlock integrity above convenience. $OT_LAB named. NEVER real-plant attack steps. chmod 600.
5. What you record before the next lesson
Date (UTC). Safety First card. $OT_LAB named. File t38-m03-l02-safety-first.txt chmod 600.
6. Wrong vs right: plant attacks vs YOUR OT lab sims
Worked failure — same MSF word, opposite target. Right never needs a café Wi-Fi or classmate laptop.
Wrong
Bypass E-stop interlock to test HMI login.
Right
Write safety first card for YOUR $OT_LAB. Next: Availability Bias.
Mission: document Safety First on YOUR OT lab
1) Name literacy rows on $OT_LAB. 2) Write NEVER list (no real-plant attacks, unauthorized OT scans, or exploit cookbooks). 3) chmod 600. Never scan or exploit real industrial networks.
Stuck? Ask Cyberlium AI Mentor
Ask Mentor: literacy on $OT_LAB — not attack recipes against live plants.
Knowledge Check
APPLY: Safety First on Cyberlium means:
Multiple choice
Knowledge Check
APPLY: True or False: Topic 38 includes ICS attack cookbooks against real plants.
True or False
Knowledge Check
APPLY: Safety First literacy on Cyberlium uses:
Multiple choice