TROCI: Towards Resilient Operation of Critical Infrastructures - application to water and energy systems

关键基础设施是一个国家运转所必需的，也是日常生活所依赖的。最近的地缘政治事件突显了保护这些基础设施免受各种威胁的重要性，以确保国家安全和公民福祉。仪器仪表和控制(I&C)系统被广泛用于通过传感器从各个节点收集数据，并通过远程和/或自主控制这些基础设施来做出决策和确保平稳运行。由于攻击面的增加，最近采用数字I&C使这些基础设施容易受到网络物理攻击。针对I&C系统的网络安全侵犯行为在全球范围内日益受到关注。如果不加以缓解，这些袭击可能会产生危险的后果。传统的I&C系统曾经设计过集中的数据处理，用于分析和控制目的。由于系统的复杂性以及新的威胁行为者和传播媒介的出现，这种方法已不再适用。为了填补这一空白，我们设想开发一种全面的硬件-软件混合安全和隐私解决方案，以增强关键基础设施的弹性。实现这一愿景需要系统层面的思维、多学科的专业知识和有效的工业最终用户参与。通过在设计I&C系统时采用全新的方法，建议的解决方案将进行联合设计，重点是：-优化硬件-软件交互-最大限度地减少信息流-通过冗余和智能化降低硬件故障的风险-通过最低限度的传感器放置减少入侵攻击面的数量-通过本地处理保护数据免受中毒-通过创新的软件平台设计提高能源效率。该成果将与我们的工业终端用户一起开发，并将部署在涉及供水系统和核电站的高级使用案例中。通过该项目寻求的科技突破将在关键基础设施增强韧性方面开辟新的研究机会，促进客观基准，培养熟练人力并加快行业采用。

Critical infrastructures are necessary for a country to function and upon which daily life depends. Recent geopolitical events have highlighted the importance of protecting these infrastructures from various threats to ensure national security and citizens' wellbeing. Instrumentation and control (I&C) systems are widely used to collect data through sensors from various nodes, make decisions and ensure smooth operation through remote and/or autonomous control of these infrastructures. The recent adoption of digital I&C makes these infrastructures vulnerable to cyber-physical attacks due to the increased number of attack surfaces. Cyber security infringements targeting I&C systems are a growing concern worldwide. If unmitigated, the attacks can have dangerous consequences. Traditional I&C systems were designed for a time with centralised data-processing for analytics and control purposes. This approach is no longer fit for purpose owing to the system complexity and the emergence of new threat actors and vectors. To fill this void, we envision to develop a comprehensive hybrid hardware-software security and privacy solution for the critical infrastructure resilience enhancement. Realisation of this vision will require system-level thinking, multidisciplinary expertise, and effective industrial end user engagement. By adopting a fundamentally new approach in designing the I&C systems, the proposed solution will be co-designed with emphasis on: -optimising the hardware-software interaction -minimising the information flow -reducing the risk of hardware fault through redundancy and smartification -lowering the number of intrusion attack surfaces through minimum sensor placement -safeguarding the data from poisoning through local processing -enhancing energy-efficiency through innovative software platform design. The results will be developed with our industrial end users and will be deployed in advanced use cases involving water distribution systems and nuclear power plants. The scientific and technical breakthroughs sought through this project will open new research opportunities in critical infrastructure resilience enhancement, promote objective benchmarking, develop skilled manpower and accelerate industry adoption.