The Worst ICS/OT Love Story Every Told - 2025 Mike Holcomb
Mike Holcomb
DEF CON 33 · Day 1 · Main Stage
In "The Worst ICS/OT Love Story Ever Told," Mike Holcomb, a seasoned professional from Fluor, delves into the critical and often overlooked cybersecurity challenges within Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and Operational Technology (OT) environments. Filling in for another speaker at DEF CON, Holcomb leverages his extensive experience to expose the pervasive misconceptions and vulnerabilities that plague these vital infrastructures. The talk centers on the transformative potential of Generative AI (GenAI), specifically ChatGPT, as a powerful tool for both offensive and defensive security operations in OT, even for individuals without a background in software development.
AI review
Holcomb knows OT/ICS cold and the core message — PLCs are vulnerable, asset inventory is a disaster, internet exposure is real — is correct and worth repeating at DEF CON. But the actual technical contribution is thin: using ChatGPT to write a Modbus listener and a PCAP parser isn't novel research, it's a tutorial. The talk lands squarely in 'competent practitioner shares field wisdom' territory, not original research.