Risk Modeling and Cyber Defense Exercise for Critical Infrastructures Security

许多关键基础设施，如电网，都是复杂的网络物理系统（CPS）。保护这些系统免受网络攻击对国家安全和经济福祉至关重要。考虑到针对关键基础设施的网络攻击的风险评估尚未得到很好的理解，因为这些系统中不断增长的、动态的威胁环境以及复杂的网络物理相互作用。此外，迫切需要创造环境，使现实的攻击防御实验（包括风险评估和风险缓解）和训练演习能够安全地进行，以促进国家需要的这一重要领域的科学和劳动力发展。该项目有两个关键目标：(1)短期目标是设计、开发和演示网络防御演习，以提高CPS系统的安全性，与NIST/US Ignite全球城市团队挑战赛保持一致；(2)长期目标是探索网络风险评估和缓解的基本模型和算法。该项目将爱荷华州立大学和南加州大学现有的三个安全试验台联合起来，为进行CPS安全实验、安全准备和训练演习创造一个现实的环境，就像北美可靠性公司（NERC）的GridEx一样。该项目的智力价值在于两个关键贡献：(i)对CPS安全试验台联邦的现实实验，以及（ii）开发一种用于CPS系统网络风险建模的新方法。该项目更广泛的影响在于开发现实的攻击防御场景和学习/培训模块，使学术研究人员、学生和行业从业者能够系统地理解、分析和提高关键基础设施的安全性和弹性。

Many critical infrastructures, such as the power grid, are complex cyber physical systems (CPS). Protecting these systems against cyber-attacks is of paramount importance to national security and economic well-being. Risk assessment considering cyber-attacks against critical infrastructures is not well understood due to ever growing, dynamic threat landscape coupled with complex cyber-physical interactions in these systems. In addition, there is a compelling need to create environments in which realistic attack-defense experiments (including risk assessment and risk mitigation) and training exercises can be safely conducted to advance the science and workforce development in this important area of national need.This project has two key goals: (1) the short-term goal is to design, develop, and demonstrate a cyber defense exercise for improving the security of CPS systems in alignment with the NIST/US Ignite Global Cities Team Challenge; and (2) the long-term goal is to explore fundamental models and algorithms for cyber risk assessment and mitigation. The project makes synergistic federation of three existing security testbeds hosted at Iowa State University and the University of Southern California to create a realistic environment for conducting CPS security experimentation and security preparedness and training exercise, like the North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) GridEx. The intellectual merit of the project lies in two key contributions: (i) realistic experimentations on CPS security testbed federation, and (ii) the development of a novel methodology for cyber risk modeling of CPS systems. The broader impacts of the project lie in developing realistic attack-defense scenarios and learning/training modules that enable academic researchers, students, and industry practitioners to systematically understand, analyze, and improve the security and resiliency of critical infrastructures.