Industrial Control Systems Joint Working Group (ICSJWG)

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Control Systems Security Program (CSSP) established the Industrial Control Systems Joint Working Group (ICSJWG) to facilitate information sharing and reduce the risk to the nation’s industrial control systems.

The ICSJWG is a collaborative and coordinating body operating under the Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC) requirements. The ICSJWG provides a vehicle for communicating and partnering across all Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources Sectors (CIKR) between federal agencies and departments, as well as private asset owners/operators of industrial control systems. The goal of the ICSJWG is to continue and enhance the collaborative efforts of the industrial control systems stakeholder community in securing CIKR by accelerating the design, development, and deployment of secure industrial control systems.


ICSJWG Subgroups

ICSJWG Subgroups strive to address cybersecurity challenges; participation is encouraged!

The ICSJWG currently operates five subgroups which were formed to address specific cybersecurity challenges facing the industrial control system stakeholder community. Each subgroup has developed goals and milestones to address these challenges, and participation by contributing ideas, sharing information, or working toward solutions is encouraged. If you would like to get involved and participate in these subgroups, please contact ICSJWG at icsjwg@hq.dhs.gov. Below is a brief description of each of the subgroups with links to their charters.

International Subgroup: The International Subgroup will focus on enhancing international collaboration, information sharing, and incident response by evaluating the challenges of sharing sensitive information between responsible national and government authorities.

European Commission and the US Department of Homeland Security, supported by ENISA and Member States, have been developing the Strategy and Action Plan on Cyber Security of Industrial Control Systems and Smart Grids during 2012 that considers the initiative of a EU-US Workshop on Cyber Security of ICS and Smart Grids. This workshop has been confirmed and is set to occur on October 15, 2012 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. More information about the event and registration can be found here.

Research and Development Subgroup: The Research and Development Subgroup will identify existing and planned R&D needs and priorities as they relate to industrial control systems and identify desired areas of ICS research not currently underway.

Roadmap to Secure Industrial Control Systems: The Roadmap to Secure ICS Subgroup will maintain the Cross-Sector Roadmap to address cyber risk management within control systems environments and will coordinate its use. The completed Cross-Sector Roadmap for Cybersecurity of Control Systems is available for review and use as a model for all Sectors.

Vendor Subgroup: The Vendor Subgroup will identify ways to improve information sharing between vendors, owners and operators, and other organizations involved in securing ICS. The Subgroup will create a more effective framework for cyber risk management within ICS environments.

The Vulnerability Disclosure Subcommittee completed the final draft of the Common Industrial Control System Vulnerability Disclosure Framework, which provides a consensus-based foundation for ICS vendors and integrators working to develop a vulnerability disclosure policy.

Workforce Development Subgroup: The Workforce Development Subgroup will continue to identify existing industrial control systems security curricula and make recommendations to enhance or create a new curriculum. The subgroup will also continue to evaluate certification programs for control systems security professionals and work to develop an outreach plan for the control systems security workforce.

ICSJWG 2013 Spring Meeting

The Industrial Control Systems Joint Working Group (ICSJWG) 2013 Spring Meeting will be held on May 6 - 9, 2013 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix. This event includes subgroup meetings held under the CIPAC framework, presentations, and training for control systems stakeholders from public and private organizations across the sectors. Information about subgroup meetings, presentations, training and International Partners Day is already available. Click on the graphic to learn more about the meeting.

Please find presentations currently allowed to be posted at the appropriate Previous Meeting Information section below.

Please contact us if you have questions.

Previous Meeting Information


ICSJWG Newsletters

As of July 2010, ICSJWG moved from publishing a monthly newsletter to a publishing a quarterly newsletter. This change in format allows us to include articles of interest from the ICSJWG community. 

If you would like to submit a short article of general interest pertaining to control systems security, please send it to icsjwg@hq.dhs.gov for consideration. Submitted articles will be reviewed and approved by ICSJWG prior to publishing. Please note that marketing or sales presentations aimed at gaining the audience's interest in services, capabilities, or products cannot be approved. The deadline for submissions for the December 2012 newsletter is December 10, 2012.


Additional information

Please contact the Control Systems Security Program, ICSJWG Office at icsjwg@hq.dhs.gov.

The Control Systems Security Program maintains the historical archives of the PCSF website to ensure continuity for the industrial control systems stakeholder community. The historical archives of the PCSF website can be found here.