I have been very fortunate to "go walkabout" throughout our wonderful world, usually this happens as a result of  the need to undertake and perform various work related activities somewhere.

 

For better or worse I have experienced or witnessed first hand many things. I have traveled to many locations and destinations on this planet and I have seen many truly remarkable wonders both natural and man made. This has provided me a wealth of opportunities for interacting and meeting people from all walks of life along the path. I have met and continue to meet many amazing and interesting and truly inspiring people. I have come across fellow human beings behaving the absolute worst that man can be and I have also seen them perform at their very best when faced with real life and death, hand to mouth adversity and seemingly impossible odds.

 

My professional journey of over 26 years experience covers various disciplines of modern science including: 

Electronics / Electronic Engineering,

Electrical Engineering,

Instrumentation & Process Control,

Communications / Telecommunications Engineering, and

Physical & Electronic Security.

 

My roles:

 

Thus far I have been mainly seen or (unseen sometimes) being employed directly or in-directly for government, defense and law enforcement agencies within Australia and abroad.

 

Along this journey, somehow, I  managed to acquire practical experience in:

 Historically this experience has always been with an emphasis and commitment in directly supporting, by leading or being part of a team performing field operations activities.

 

Presently, I manage my time mostly as what can be best described as a SCADA Systems Specialist for a Water Utility located in South East Queensland Australia. This IS the place I affectionately refer to as "The Salt Mine" however, I do have various other activities, interests and occasional pastimes that I would like to spend more time at than what I seem to be able to create opportunities for.

 

To combat the intentional and un-intentional attempts to deskill someone like me, I  keep my skills and knowledge honed, current and relevant, not just in the water industry, but across multiple industries and sectors. I do this by performing various consultancy roles and support activities outside of the salt mine.

 

Most recently this has been as the Director of Australian Operations, for one of the ICS security industry leaders, Lofty Perch http://www.loftyperch.com/. Yes I am biased! These guys are really a great team of people to be associated with and we manage to collaborate with customers and other industry leaders wherever possible.

  

So how do I spend my highly sought after and valued free time:

I am known to spend many long hours researching numerous topics of interest - Usually something to do with SCADA although lately I've been re-acquainting myself  & improving my proficiency with all things sailing....

 

For example ....

                                                                              

Here some brushing up on Racing Tactic's and Sail Performance Theory, using one of my model racing Yachts @ Pacific Harbor Bribie Is. QLD. 

 

And, Cruising Practice.... Yes someone let me sail their very expensive boat from Mooloolaba to Shute Harbour. 

 Some shots taken by me whilst I was performing a shakedown cruise on board a friend's Nautitech after a major refit !

The first is an "Action Shot"  taken with my new camera. My first time single handing a boat after a 20 hiatus

Can you guess what happens?

Yup some big waves and a lightning storm.Only fell overboard once too. Yes I was at anchor.

Sadly this was the only shot I had time for things got rather hectic for a while after this till I managed to way anchor after the seas abated and the storm had passed. I managed to find some more of the usual conditions and scenery that is the normal scene of the QLD Cruising life and delivered the boat safely to the Whitsundays - Just like old times. 

As you can see the boat is unscathed.

 

So when I am not playing, sailing, mowing paddocks or working too much at the salt mine, I am developing an Industry Gap Training Manual.  You can check out the table of contents for the manual that I am trying to complete.

http://scadaperspective.com/Practical-SCADA-Teaser.pdf

 

 

I am a member of the SCADA Community of Interest http://www.scadacoi.com.au

(Part of the Trusted Information Sharing Network TISN)

 

Government and Industry in partnership!

 

 

See Below for course outline details.

 

The course designed to provide knowledge and understanding of the key policy issues and technologies underlying Critical Infrastructures (CI) in the various industries and the design considerations for process control systems in light of threats of natural or man-made catastrophic events with a view to securing such critical systems.

Course Content:

Critical Infrastructures (CI)and their vulnerabilities, the role of CI in the economy, security policy and procedures;risks management and strategic planning;

Fundamentals of SCADA systems : hardware, software and communication systems -Ethernet, TCP/IP, security protocols;

Security Engineering Principles : opportunities and limitations of  engineered solution to the CI with primer on technologies employed, their historic content and current key issues;

Enterprises network securities:  security roles, system connections, secure remote maintenance, system communication protection, perimeter protection;

System monitoring tools and techniques ;

Incident Management and response and Escalation: Research approaches and current best practices in process control systems security.

 

 

 

RON SOUTHWORTH

F Inst. M Sci. EEng.