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

TROCI：实现关键基础设施的弹性运行 - 在水和能源系统中的应用

• 批准号: EP/Y036344/1
• 负责人: Hafiz Ahmed
• 金额: $ 37.61万
• 依托单位: University of Sheffield
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2024 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FY036344%2F1
• 关键词: TROCI; Towards; Resilient; Operation; Critical

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.

重要的基础设施是一个国家运作所必需的，也是日常生活所依赖的。最近的地缘政治事件突出表明，必须保护这些基础设施免受各种威胁，以确保国家安全和公民福祉。仪表和控制（I&C）系统被广泛用于通过来自各种节点的传感器收集数据，做出决策，并通过对这些基础设施的远程和/或自主控制来确保平稳运行。最近采用的数字I&C使这些基础设施容易受到网络物理攻击，因为攻击面数量增加。针对I&C系统的网络安全侵权行为在全球范围内日益受到关注。如果不加缓和，这些袭击可能会产生危险的后果。传统的I&C系统设计用于集中数据处理以进行分析和控制。由于系统的复杂性以及新的威胁行为体和载体的出现，这种方法不再适合目的。为了填补这一空白，我们设想开发一个全面的混合硬件-软件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级思维、多学科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，将共同设计拟议的解决方案，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-通过最小化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毒害-提高能源-通过创新的软件平台设计提高效率。研究结果将与我们的工业终端用户一起开发，并将部署在涉及配水系统和核电站的高级用例中。通过该项目寻求的科学和技术突破将在关键基础设施复原力增强方面开辟新的研究机会，促进客观的基准制定，培养熟练的人力资源，并加速行业采用。