Bridging the OT Security Skills Gap: A Spotlight on Hacktonics

In our latest webinar, we had the pleasure of hosting Awais Rashid and Joe Gardiner, co-founders of Hacktonics. Both Awais (a professor of cybersecurity at the University of Bristol) and Joe (a lecturer with hands-on ICS experience) are on a mission to make ICS and OT cybersecurity training far more accessible - an urgent need in an industry where the skills gap often slows progress and leaves critical infrastructure exposed.

Hacktonics’ Approach

1. Hands-On Training Boxes Hacktonics has developed portable training kits that simulate realistic ICS environments. Trainees gain experience configuring, attacking (ethically!), and defending actual devices. This direct exposure fosters far deeper understanding tha ...