About Jacob

Jacob Behnken started Windlass Consulting after twenty years in critical infrastructure operations.

Founder & Principal, Windlass Consulting · Houston, TX

Now he helps pipeline, energy and critical-infrastructure operators assess their OT and ICS security and close the gaps while their systems keep running.

How he got here

From operations to security

Jacob spent twenty years on the operations side of critical infrastructure. He started in network and telecom engineering and ran a NOC, then led infrastructure, OT communications, and resilience at a regulated pipeline operator, across more than 20,000 nodes.

For most of his career, OT networks were kept largely separate from the rest of the business. That is changing. Operators need tighter integration and more access to real-time operational data, and each new connection adds exposure. Attacks on industrial systems are becoming more frequent and more sophisticated, and many operators need help securing environments that were not designed for this level of connectivity.

That’s why he started Windlass Consulting: to help operators find out where their OT security actually stands and fix the gaps without disrupting operations.

Prior operating scope

Where Jacob has worked

He led infrastructure teams in regulated, critical-infrastructure environments at publicly traded companies. The work included network and telecom engineering, NOC operations, data centers, OT/SCADA communications and resilience.

Based in Houston, TX

Credentials

Certifications and education

Certifications

Fortinet NSE 3 Cybersecurity, September 2026
ITIL v4 Foundation
F5 302 BIG-IP DNS Specialist, August 2019 (previously held)
F5 201 TMOS Administration, August 2017 (previously held)
F5 101 Application Delivery Fundamentals, August 2016 (previously held)
MCSE on Windows Server 2003, 2010 (previously held)
MCSA: Messaging on Windows Server 2003, 2008 (previously held)

Education

AAS in Network Administration, Del Mar College, May 2006
AAS in Business Management, Del Mar College, May 2019

Working principles

How Jacob approaches the work

Governance before glamour

He starts with who sees the risk, who makes the call and who is accountable for it. Technology choices come after that.

Change at the pace the environment allows

In critical and legacy systems, moving too fast has a real cost. He plans changes around what your operations can safely absorb.

Translate depth into visibility

Leaders can’t act on risk they can’t see. He explains OT risk in business terms and keeps the operational facts you need to decide.

Results from prior work

Results from that work

Modernization

Jacob led modernization across the network core, SD-WAN, OT communications and data centers in a 20,000+ node environment without major operational disruption.

Continuity

A continuity program covering three publicly traded companies and more than 160 departments received Everbridge “Best in Resilience” recognition.

Cost recovery

Telecom expense management and vendor renegotiation recovered more than $10M a year.

Have an OT security question?

Windlass Consulting takes on assessment, segmentation and pipeline cybersecurity work.

Talk to Windlass about your OT security program Invite Jacob to speak at your event