Operational Technology, Monitoring and Testing Equipment

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The Mohawk College Energy and Power Innovation Centre (EPIC) is requesting components to support projects in the areas of cybersecurity, energy process improvement and product development. The requested equipment comprises of hardware and software components that will help emulate real-case scenarios, interact with existing hardware, acquire information for process analysis, and help develop related electronic prototypes. From the cybersecurity perspective, the increasing number and types of cyber attacks to Operational Technology (OT) in electrical systems has made cybersecurity threats a priority. The requested equipment will significantly support the development of an OT platform to support Local Distribution Companies (LDCs) and industry partners re-create cybersecurity scenarios in a safe environment to explore strategies to detect, protect, and mitigate cyber threats. The proposed platform is meant to replicate representative sections of the existing electrical distribution system from both, an electrical/power systems and communication network perspective. The ARTI requested software will be able to emulate the OT communications network including local area and remote networks, using the standard communication protocols in the industry. This OT network emulator will significantly increased the existing EPIC capabilities of developing electrical systems real-time simulation and Hardware-in-the-Loop. As a result, EPIC will be able to analyze the impacts of cyber threats in collaboration with partners, as well as creating training opportunities. From an energy process analysis and product development perspective, EPIC is committed to supporting SMEs in reducing their energy consumption via process analysis/energy efficiency. Recently, EPIC is in the process of expanding its services to the agri-food sector since 1,454 processors are located within a 100 km radius around EPIC. In addition, EPIC has recognized the potential of supporting SMEs in this area since OMAFRA estimates that one third of energy used by a typical food producer goes directly into their products; the remaining is wasted. The requested ARTI equipment will give EPIC flexible and reliable components to process and analyze data.