Novel approaches to increase the resilience of critical infrastructures (CI) in presence of sophisticated cyberattacks
National infrastructures, which are governed by supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, are increasingly being targeted and compromised by malicious cyberattacks. With this in mind, the EU-funded COCKPITCI (Cybersecurity on SCADA: Risk prediction, analysis and reaction tools for critical infrastructures) project worked on overcoming cyberattacks in light of increased connectivity. To enforce SCADA awareness, project partners designed an integrated solution to provide increased situation awareness to operators and to maintain the infrastructure safe and running, even though partially, in adverse situations. To boost awareness of single or interdependent CIs, the solution comprises several integrated services that can be embedded in an existing architecture without interfering with normal operations. Key components include a multilayered cyber detection framework that enables CI owners to exchange real-time information about attacks, novel devices to detect, gather and consolidate security information, and a risk prediction tool that assesses the potential threat of cyberattacks on CIs. In addition, a test and validation platform was established to provide a seamless and shared environment where researchers can develop and test tools and methods in order to assess risk and simulate scenarios. COCKPITCI introduced a series of innovations under one system representing a major advance in increasing the reliability and security of major infrastructures. In an increasingly interconnected world, this project is certainly an enterprising step in the right direction for thwarting cyberattacks aimed at CIs.
Keywords
Cyberattacks, critical infrastructures, SCADA, cybersecurity, risk prediction, situation awareness, decision support
