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Book reviews

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Books worth your time

Reviews from the operator's side of the table: OT/ICS security, industrial incident response, and buying and running managed security services.

Cover: Industrial Cybersecurity, Second Edition, by Pascal Ackerman
OT/ICS Security · Packt · 2nd Ed., 2021

Industrial Cybersecurity: Efficiently Monitor the Cybersecurity Posture of Your ICS Environment

by Pascal Ackerman
About the book

An 800-page, hands-on guide to building and monitoring security for industrial control system environments. It starts with security-oriented architecture, including the updated Industrial Demilitarized Zone (IDMZ) design, and moves through monitoring, tracking and trending of ICS risk, threat hunting, and security assessments, then shows how to verify that the whole program is working.

Mark's take

If you run, or are about to buy, OT intrusion detection, this is the book to read first. Ackerman starts with architecture and the IDMZ before he gets to tools, which is the right order. Monitoring only works when the network was segmented with visibility in mind. It's long, but it's a reference you'll keep coming back to.

Critical infrastructure operators OT/ICS security engineers SOC teams adding OT coverage
🛒 Buy on Amazon
Cover: Incident Management for Industrial Control Systems, by Durgesh Kalya
Incident Response · Packt · 2026

Incident Management for Industrial Control Systems: Safeguard Industrial Control Systems by Mastering Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity

by Durgesh Kalya
About the book

A practical guide to incident response for Industrial Automation and Control Systems (IACS) in critical infrastructure, drawn from nearly two decades of the author's experience. It covers the OT threat landscape, incident command systems and emergency operations, the frameworks and compliance standards involved, government reporting, and how to design drills, scenarios, and exercises that build real incident readiness.

Mark's take

OT incidents are run as much by operations and emergency management as by the security team. This book treats them that way. The material on incident command structure, exercises, and government reporting is what most IT-centric IR plans are missing. A strong companion for anyone writing or testing an OT incident response plan with an MSSP or MDR provider.

Utility & plant operators OT incident responders MSSP/MDR teams serving CI
🛒 Buy on Amazon
Managed Security Services · The Art of Service · 2021 Ed.

MSSP A Complete Guide — 2021 Edition

by The Art of Service — MSSP Publishing
About the book

A self-assessment workbook rather than a narrative guide. It presents hundreds of MSSP-specific questions organized into seven criteria (Recognize, Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control, Sustain). You score each one on a five-point scale to build a scorecard of strengths and gaps in an MSSP service model. Purchase also includes a downloadable toolkit of templates, checklists, and assessments.

Mark's take

Treat this as a question bank, not a playbook. It won't tell you what a good MSSP looks like, but it's a useful way to make sure your RFP, your provider reviews, or your own service design haven't skipped a category. Pair it with real-world guidance on scoping, pricing, and outcomes. That gap is exactly what the Managed Security Buyers Guide series is written to fill.

MSSP buyers drafting RFPs MSSP/MDR service owners Vendor-management teams
🛒 Buy on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, Mark earns from qualifying purchases. Cover images courtesy of Packt Publishing.

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