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Presenter says think tank warned of threats that could cut power and water; OT Defender created to fill a gap
Summary
A presenter recounted that the OT Defender Fellowship grew from a think tank more than five years ago that flagged rising threats to critical infrastructure and said no prior government program focused on operational-technology defenders.
A presenter said they were present when the OT Defender Fellowship was created more than five years ago and that the program followed a think tank that examined rising threats to critical infrastructure. The presenter said those threats could "turn off the lights, turn off the water, turn off the power for companies, the government, and individual citizens," and argued the fellowship was created because no prior government program focused specifically on operational-technology defenders.
The presenter described OT Defender as "one of its kind" and a clear example of a public–private partnership where government and private sector work together to understand and defend against threats. The account framed the program as a response to identified gaps in government training for OT security staff, positioning the fellowship as a deliberate effort to increase sector resilience rather than an ad hoc training effort.
