About Us

5000+
Participants
500+
Volunteer Hours
42+
Volunteers
31+
Events
ICS Village co-founder presenting on the DEF CON Creator Stage in front of the village audience.
About Us

Why We Exist

High-profile Industrial Control Systems security issues have grabbed headlines and sparked changes throughout the global supply chain. The ICS Village allows defenders of any experience level to understand the unique failure modes of these systems and how to better prepare and respond to the changing threat landscape.

Our interactive simulated ICS environments mimic realistic plants so defenders can assess, experiment, and preserve safe, secure, and reliable operations. We offer an empowering educational experience for all levels of experience and across IT and industrial equipment.

Our Mission

ICS Village (EIN: 83-1371184), a 501(c)(3) non-profit, was formalized in 2018 with origins going back to 2013. We equip industry professionals and policymakers to better defend industrial equipment through experiential awareness, education, and training.

Our Sponsors & Partners
Nozomi Networks RedHorse GRIMM Cyber Arcova SCYTHE Gula Tech Adventures Enaxy Cutaway Security Insane Cyber txOne Networks Wicked Cyber Games
Our History

Our History

The ICS Village addresses the growing concern over industrial control system security by providing hands-on training in a realistic simulated environment. From a conversation at a hacker conference to a recognized non-profit teaching defenders worldwide — here are the milestones along the way.

  • 2013 ICS Village Was Conceived
  • 2014 Invited to DEF CON
  • 2015 Invited to RSAC Sandbox
  • 2018 Formalized as 501(c)(3) Non-Profit
Co-Founders

The People Who Started It

ICS Village was founded by two working practitioners in 2018, with origins going back to 2013. Both are still actively running plants, building cyber-physical labs, and standing up the next generation of OT defenders.

Bryson Bort, Co-Founder of ICS Village
Bryson Bort
Co-Founder

Founder of SCYTHE (a next-generation threat emulation platform) and GRIMM (cybersecurity consultancy), and Co-Founder of the ICS Village. Senior Fellow at the National Security Institute and Adjunct Senior Technical Advisor for the Institute of Security and Technology.

As a U.S. Army Officer, he served as a Battle Captain and Brigade Engineering Officer in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom before leaving the Army as a Captain. Recognized as a "Top 50 in Cyber" by Business Insider, "Security Executive Finalist of the Year" by SC Media, and a two-time "Tech Titan."

BS Computer Science (with honors), West Point. MS Telecommunications Management, University of Maryland. MBA, University of Florida. Graduate studies in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Texas.

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Tom VanNorman, Co-Founder of ICS Village
Tom VanNorman
Co-Founder

Co-founded ICS Village and leads the CyPhy Product group at GRIMM, where his primary focus is securing Industrial Control Systems and the networking of such systems.

Tom brings an unparalleled level of operational knowledge and experience — he has been working in the Operational Technology (OT) field for almost three decades. He has considerable expertise in constructing Cyber-Physical testing environments for OT systems.

Retired from the Air National Guard after over 20 years of service, where he worked in Cyber Warfare Operations.

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Volunteers

ICS Village Runs on Volunteers

Over 50 working practitioners — instructors, SOC operators, plant engineers, researchers, policy advisors — donate their time to teach, build, and run the village.

Aaron Crow

Aaron Crow

Instructor
DL

Dillon Lee

Instructor
DC

David Cass

Lead Instructor · Harvard
VG

Vladislav Gostomelsky

Lead Instructor
DB

Dd Budiharto

Advisor
DR

Dan Ricci

Volunteer
DJ

David Johnson

Volunteer
DW

Don Weber

Cutaway Security
KJ

Kate Johnson

Volunteer
MS

Mykala Saytashev

Volunteer
NN

Nancy Ni

Volunteer
+

And More

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Opportunities Include

  • Admin
  • Events
  • Marketing
  • Speaking
  • Teaching
  • Technical
  • Workforce Development
  • Sponsorship
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Protect Critical Infrastructure with Hands-On Training

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