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Leveraging Connections 2018 Progress Report

This 2018 progress report contains a list of Los Alamos National Laboratory's top innovations of the time, including: Inventing - Los Alamos National Laboratory has been inventing for the past 75 years to accomplish the difficult, the unexpected and at times, what seems impossible. The Feynman Center is rethinking roadmaps for patent and software strategies to enable Los Alamos to achieve greater impact of its innovations; Innovating - The US technology advantage in national security is dependent on continual innovation. Los Alamos’ immense contributions in leading edge science and technology research and development are directed into solving complex and forthcoming national security challenges. Check out the Technology Snapshot platform at https://techsnapshot.lanl.gov to explore Los Alamos’s technologies ready to be developed into disruptive applications; Disrupting - Known well for developing the first nuclear weapon, big and small science at Los Alamos is behind many other disruptive innovations. This year we are highlighting Los Alamos’s leadership in small modular nuclear reactor design and development, work on international nuclear safeguards electronics instrumentation, and first demonstrated deployment of non-destructive testing to measure corrosion in nuclear material storage containers; Partnering - Los Alamos science has assisted partners big and small with their toughest challenges, this year Los Alamos scientists assisted two New Mexico farm owners—Tim Seaman with Manzanar Los Silvestres apple orchard in Abiquiu and Christopher Bassett of Freshies of New Mexico in El Guique — protect their crops from frost.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Defending Against Adversarial Examples

Adversarial machine learning is an active field of research that seeks to investigate the security of machine learning methods against cyber-attacks. An important branch of this field is adversarial examples, which seek to trick machine learning models into misclassifying inputs by maliciously tampering with input data. As a result of the pervasiveness of machine learning models in diverse areas such as computer vision, health care, and national security, this vulnerability is a rapidly growing threat. With the increasing use of AI solutions, threats against AI must be considered before deploying systems in a contested space. Adversarial machine learning is a problem strongly tied to software security, and just like other more common software vulnerabilities, it exploits a weakness in software, like components of machine learning models. During this project, we attempted to survey and replicate several adversarial machine learning techniques with the goal of developing capabilities for Sandia to advise and defend against these threats. To accomplish this, we scanned state of the art research for robust defenses against adversarial examples and applied them to a machine learning problem.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Intelligent System Partitioning for Agent-Based Security Constrained Optimal Power Flow

This project developed scalable, computationally efficient algorithms to solve realistic large-scale power system optimization problems as part of a larger series of competitions run by ARPA-E. These problems are important because the secure and reliable operation of the power grid, especially under increased uncertainty and variability, is growing increasingly challenging. The economic feasibility of the proposed methods developed by our team is quite low, considering it’s a purely software-based solution to operate power grids more efficiently. The technical effectiveness, as evidenced by our performance in the competition, balances heuristics and approximations to provide a tradeoff between speed and accuracy.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

ISS Operations Cost Reductions Through Automation of Real-Time Planning Tasks

In 2008 the Johnson Space Center s Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) management team challenged their organization to find ways to reduce the costs of International Space station (ISS) console operations in the Mission Control Center (MCC). Each MOD organization was asked to identify projects that would help them attain a goal of a 30% reduction in operating costs by 2012. The MOD Operations and Planning organization responded to this challenge by launching several software automation projects that would allow them to greatly improve ISS console operations and reduce staffing and operating costs. These projects to date have allowed the MOD Operations organization to remove one full time (7 x 24 x 365) ISS console position in 2010; with the plan of eliminating two full time ISS console support positions by 2012. This will account for an overall 10 EP reduction in staffing for the Operations and Planning organization. These automation projects focused on utilizing software to automate many administrative and often repetitive tasks involved with processing ISS planning and daily operations information. This information was exchanged between the ground flight control teams in Houston and around the globe, as well as with the ISS astronaut crew. These tasks ranged from managing mission plan changes from around the globe, to uploading and downloading information to and from the ISS crew, to even more complex tasks that required multiple decision points to process the data, track approvals and deliver it to the correct recipient across network and security boundaries. The software solutions leveraged several different technologies including customized web applications and implementation of industry standard web services architecture between several planning tools; as well as a engaging a previously research level technology (TRL 2-3) developed by Ames Research Center (ARC) that utilized an intelligent agent based system to manage and automate file traffic flow, archiving f data, and generating console logs. This technology called OCAMS (OCA (Orbital Communication System) Management System), is now considered TRL level 9 and is in daily use in the Mission Control Center in support of ISS operations. These solutions have not only allowed for improved efficiency on console; but since many of the previously manual data transfers are now automated, many of the human error prone steps have been removed, and the quality of the planning products has improved tremendously. This has also allowed our Planning Flight Controllers more time to focus on the abstract areas of the job, (like the complexities of planning a mission for 6 international crew members with a global planning team), instead of being burdened with the administrative tasks that took significant time each console shift to process. The resulting automation solutions have allowed the Operations and Planning organization to realize significant cost savings for the ISS program through 2020 and many of these solutions could be a viable

Hall, Timothy A.↗

Integration Test and Evaluation (IT&E) Flight Test Series 6 Live Virtual Constructive - Distributed Environment (LVC-DE) Test Report

The goals of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) (also UAS-NAS) Project are to reduce the barriers for UAS access and its integration into the NAS. The UAS-NAS project and industry stakeholders conducted a series of flight tests integrating technologies from the Modeling & Simulation (M&S), Human Systems Integration (HSI), and Communication and Control (C2), and Integration, Test & Evaluation (IT&E) research areas. The last of the flight test series, Flight Test Series 6 (FT6) was conducted in late 2019 and focused on evaluating the interaction of the airborne non-cooperative surveillance system and the Detect and Avoid (DAA) technology. The DAA system generated conflict alert and guidance for pilots using a Research Ground Control System (RGCS) to avoid intruder aircraft. The conflict alerting and guidance information was presented on the RGCS’s display using symbology developed by the human factors team. The objective of FT6 was to investigate the interoperability of Low Size, Weight, and Power (Low SWaP) sensors with the DAA alerting, guidance, and display requirements. To support this goal, the distributed test environments (DTE) were developed at Ames Research Center (ARC) and Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) and securely linked over a Virtual Private Network (VPN). These environments took advantage of existing Live Virtual Constructive (LVC) technologies to support research observation at both Centers with the insertion of live UAS and manned intruder aircraft into a simulated NAS environment with Air Traffic Control (ATC) and constructive manned aircraft. The experiment was distributed between AFRC flight operations and research facilities and the Distributed Simulation Research Laboratory (DSRL) and Software Development Laboratory (SDL) in building N243 at ARC. The Air Traffic Controller and pseudo pilots operated from the DSRL and SDL, respectively, using the Multi-Aircraft Control System (MACS). The test subject and researchers operated from the Research Ground Control Station (RGCS) at AFRC using the Vigilant Spirit Control Station (VSCS) and associated DAA software and displays. Flight Operation for the unmanned aircraft (UA) and manned intruder traffic was conducted at AFRC. Virtual traffic was managed by ARC. Voice distribution was accomplished using a combination of disparate communication systems at ARC and AFRC. The purpose of this document is to record the development, design, and execution of activities in support of the FT6 efforts from the perspective of the ARC IT&E team. Furthermore, the Armstrong IT&E team has published a thorough FT6 Test Report, with emphasis on flight test support, facilities and vehicle development; this report complements the Armstrong report. Analysis of collected FT6 data will be conducted and reported by the M&S and HSI teams and will be published in separate reports.

UAS-NAS↗

Material Protection, Accounting, and Control Technologies (MPACT) Advanced Integration Roadmap

The development of sustainable advanced nuclear fuel cycles is a long-term goal of the Office of Nuclear Energy’s (DOE-NE) Fuel Cycle Technologies program. The Material Protection, Accounting, and Control Technologies (MPACT) campaign is supporting research and development (R&D) of advanced instrumentation, analysis tools, and integration methodologies to meet this goal (Miller, 2015). This advanced R&D is intended to facilitate safeguards and security by design of fuel cycle facilities. The lab-scale demonstration of a virtual facility, distributed test bed, that connects the individual tools being developed at National Laboratories and university research establishments, is a key program milestone for 2020. These tools will consist of instrumentation and devices as well as computer software for modeling, simulation and integration.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Access Control of Web and Java Based Applications

Cyber security has gained national and international attention as a result of near continuous headlines from financial institutions, retail stores, government offices and universities reporting compromised systems and stolen data. Concerns continue to rise as threats of service interruption, and spreading of viruses become ever more prevalent and serious. Controlling access to application layer resources is a critical component in a layered security solution that includes encryption, firewalls, virtual private networks, antivirus, and intrusion detection. In this paper we discuss the development of an application-level access control solution, based on an open-source access manager augmented with custom software components, to provide protection to both Web-based and Java-based client and server applications.

cybersecurity↗

Authentication of smart grid communications using quantum key distribution

Smart grid solutions enable utilities and customers to better monitor and control energy use via information and communications technology. Information technology is intended to improve the future electric grid’s reliability, efficiency, and sustainability by implementing advanced monitoring and control systems. However, leveraging modern communications systems also makes the grid vulnerable to cyberattacks. Here we report the first use of quantum key distribution (QKD) keys in the authentication of smart grid communications. In particular, we make such demonstration on a deployed electric utility fiber network. The developed method was prototyped in a software package to manage and utilize cryptographic keys to authenticate machine-to-machine communications used for supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA). This demonstration showcases the feasibility of using QKD to improve the security of critical infrastructure, including future distributed energy resources (DERs), such as energy storage.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

System Engineering Analysis For Improved Scout Business Information Systems

The project uses system engineering principles to address the need of Boy Scout leaders for an integrated system to facilitate advancement and awards records, leader training and planning for meetings and activities. Existing products to address needs of Scout leaders and relevant stakeholders function to support record keeping and some communication functions but opportunity exists for a better system to fully integrate these functions with training delivery and recording, activity planning along with feedback and information gathering from stakeholders. Key stakeholders for the sytem include Scouts and their families, leaders, training providers, sellers of supplies and awards, content generators and facilities that serve Scout activities. Key performance parameters for the system are protection of personal information, availability of current information, information accuracy and information content that has depth. Implementation concepts considered for the system include (1) owned and operated by Boy Scouts of America, (2) Contracted out to a vendor (3) distributed system that functions with BSA managed interfaces. The selected concept is to contract out to a vendor to maximize the likelihood of successful integration and take advantage of the best technology. Development of requirements considers three key use cases (1) System facilitates planning a hike with training needed satisfied in advance and advancement recording real time (2) Scheduling and documenting in-person training, (3) Family interested in Scouting receives information and can request follow-up. Non-functional requirements are analyzed with the Quality Function Deployment tool. Requirement addressing frequency of backup, compatibility with legacy and new technology, language support, software update are developed to address system reliability and intuitive interface. System functions analyzed include update of activity database, maintenance of advancement status, archive of documents, and monitoring of content that is accessible. The study examines risks associated with information security, technological change and continued popularity of Scouting. Mitigation is based on system functions that are defined. The approach to developing an improved system for facilitating Boy Scout leader functions was iterative with insights into capabilities coming in the course of working through the used cases and sequence diagrams.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Self port scanning tool : providing a more secure computing Environment through the use of proactive port scanning

Secure computing is a necessity in the hostile environment that the internet has become. Protection from nefarious individuals and organizations requires a solution that is more a methodology than a one time fix. One aspect of this methodology is having the knowledge of which network ports a computer has open to the world, These network ports are essentially the doorways from the internet into the computer. An assessment method which uses the nmap software to scan ports has been developed to aid System Administrators (SAs) with analysis of open ports on their system(s). Additionally, baselines for several operating systems have been developed so that SAs can compare their open ports to a baseline for a given operating system. Further, the tool is deployed on a website where SAs and Users can request a port scan of their computer. The results are then emailed to the requestor. This tool aids Users, SAs, and security professionals by providing an overall picture of what services are running, what ports are open, potential trojan programs or backdoors, and what ports can be closed.

nMap↗

Hybrid Modeling Improves Health and Performance Monitoring

Scientific Monitoring Inc. was awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center to create a new, simplified health-monitoring approach for flight vehicles and flight equipment. The project developed a hybrid physical model concept that provided a structured approach to simplifying complex design models for use in health monitoring, allowing the output or performance of the equipment to be compared to what the design models predicted, so that deterioration or impending failure could be detected before there would be an impact on the equipment's operational capability. Based on the original modeling technology, Scientific Monitoring released I-Trend, a commercial health- and performance-monitoring software product named for its intelligent trending, diagnostics, and prognostics capabilities, as part of the company's complete ICEMS (Intelligent Condition-based Equipment Management System) suite of monitoring and advanced alerting software. I-Trend uses the hybrid physical model to better characterize the nature of health or performance alarms that result in "no fault found" false alarms. Additionally, the use of physical principles helps I-Trend identify problems sooner. I-Trend technology is currently in use in several commercial aviation programs, and the U.S. Air Force recently tapped Scientific Monitoring to develop next-generation engine health-management software for monitoring its fleet of jet engines. Scientific Monitoring has continued the original NASA work, this time under a Phase III SBIR contract with a joint NASA-Pratt & Whitney aviation security program on propulsion-controlled aircraft under missile-damaged aircraft conditions.

Source record↗

Secure Route: Roadway Risk Mapping for Transportation Planners

The secure transport of sensitive materials across U.S. road networks pose unique challenges for local, state, and federal agencies. Threats range from random events (e.g., accidents, medical emergencies, mechanical failures) to opportunistic or organized tactical assaults. Although the probability of such attacks is very low, the consequences of material loss to foreign states or terrorists can be catastrophic, qualifying these scenarios as “grey swan” events—low-probability, high-impact occurrences that are predictable but difficult to quantify. Traditional risk assessments struggle in these contexts, necessitating a shift toward subjective risk perception to inform planning. Risk perception in transport planning is shaped by various factors, including knowledge of adversarial capabilities, vehicle defenses, manifest details, and geographic features along the route. Geographic features such as bridges, tunnels, roadside elevation, and gaps in cellular coverage introduce vulnerabilities, while mitigative features include safe havens, police stations, and medical services. Temporal variables such as congestion, accidents, and weather further complicate route planning. Despite their importance, existing routing tools like Google Maps and commercial software do not explicitly account for geographic risk features, requiring planners to rely on personal familiarity with routes—a time-intensive, non-scalable approach. This work addresses these gaps by: (1) developing datasets that catalog geographic risk features along U.S. roadways, (2) eliciting risk perceptions from experienced transportation security experts, and (3) linking these perceptions to roadway conditions and geographic data. We implement these capabilities within Secure Route a novel mapping tool for classifying route segment risks associated with roadway conditions. This system provides transportation planners with an intuitive interface to assess and contextualize risk along potential routes, improving decision-making for secure transport. We present current progress in this effort and identify next steps.

Stewart, Robert [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000281867559)↗

Case for Deploying Complex Systems Utilizing Commodity Components

When the International Space Station (ISS) finally reached an operational state, many of the Payload Operations and Integration Facility (POIF) hardware components were reaching end of life, COTS product costs were soaring, and the ISS budget was becoming severely constrained. However, most requirement development was complete. In addition, the ISS program is a fully functioning program with at least fifteen years of operational life remaining. Therefore it is critical that any upgrades, refurbishments, or enhancements be accomplished in realtime with minimal disruptions to service. For these and other reasons, it was necessary to ensure the viability of the POIF. Due to the to the breadth of capability of the POIF (a NASA ground station), it is believed that the lessons to be learned by other complex systems are applicable and any solutions garnered by the POIF are applicable to other complex systems as well. With that in mind, a number of new approaches have been investigated to increase the portability of the POIF and reduce the cost of refurbishment, operations, and maintenance. These new approaches were directed at the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO); not only the refurbishment but also current operational difficulties, licensing, and anticipation of the next refurbishment. Our basic premise is that technology had evolved dramatically since the concept of the POIF ground system and we should leverage our experience on this new technological landscape. Fortunately, Moore's law and market forces have changed the landscape considerably. These changes are manifest in five (5) ways that are particularly relevant to POIF: 1. Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) processors have advanced to unprecedented levels of compute capacity with a dramatic cost break, 2. Linux has become a major operating system supported by most vendors on a broad range of platforms, 3. Windows(TradeMark) based desktops are pervasive in the office environment, 4. Stable and affordable WindowsTM development environments and tools are available and offer a rich set of capabilities, 5. The WindowsTM 2000 provides a stable client platform, Therefore, five studies were proposed, developed, and are in the current process of deployment which dramatically reduces the cost of operations, maintenance, refurbishment, and deployment of a ground system. Restating and refining the basic premise stated earlier, it is possible to enhance operations through the replacement of hardware and software components with commodity based items wherever applicable. This will dramatically reduce the overall lifecycle cost of the project. The first study leveraged the POIF S secure, three-tier, web architecture to replace the client workstations with lower cost PC platforms. A second study initiated a review of COTS products to examine the level of added value of each product. This study included replacement of some COTS products with custom code, deletions, substitutions, and consolidation of COTS products. Studies three and four reviewed the server architectures of the data distribution systems and Enhanced HOSC System (EHS) command and telemetry system to propose migration to new platforms, both software and hardware. The final study reviewed current IP communication technologies, developed an operational model for flight operations, and demonstrated that voice over IP was practical and could be integrated into operations.

Bryant, Barry S.↗

Deploying Software-Defined Networking in Operational Technology Environments

Software Defined Networking for Operational Technologies, referred to as OT-SDN, is a leading technology to secure critical infrastructure and command and control (C2) systems. As the name implies, OT-SDN networks are programmable, which allows system owners to utilize the characteristics of their physical process to inform the security of their network. There are best practices for deploying OT-SDN into an environment, whether it is all at once or over time (hybrid) that the network is converted to SDN technologies. Through the development of data mining tools and standardized process control, OT-SDN can be deployed reliably. These tools will minimize or eliminate any communication failures during the transition and provide the network owner with complete documentation of their environment. This documentation could enable or facilitate the network owner to pass any audits or policy checks (Authority to Operate) before being allowed to utilize the OT-SDN infrastructure.

Software Defined Networking, Operational Technolog↗

MARVEL 90% Final Design Report

This document provides documentation of the Microreactor Applications Research Validation and Evaluation Project’s (MARVEL) 90% Final Design, as required by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Standard-1189, “Integration of Safety into the Design Process." Per DOE-STD-1189-2016, the 90% Final Design documentation focuses on design completion, at a level capable of supporting procurement, construction, testing, and operation. At this phase, the design organization finalizes the hazards and accident analyses, Fire Hazard Analysis (FHA), security vulnerability assessments, and other supporting analyses for design completion. The objective of this report is to provide a high-level summary of the design thus far and provide references including, but not limited to, the following design deliverables: • Complete final drawings, specifications and commercial grade dedications that may be released for bid and/or construction. • Clearly defined testing plans for the safety and functionality of all subsystems. • Quality Assurance Program for Design, Testing and Procurement. • Software Quality Assurance Plan. • Code of Record (COR), applicable design requirements including codes and standards. • Final design that meets all the requirements stipulated in the COR. • Final design review, consisting of final validation of comment resolution from previous reviews, and a review of any additional developments since the last review. • Updated Safety Design Strategy. • Hazard Analysis. • Fire Hazard Analysis. • Accident analysis. • Security vulnerability assessment. • Current and detailed cost estimate. • Current construction schedule, and • Risk & Opportunities Assessment.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Material Protection, Accounting, and Control Technologies (MPACT): Modeling and Simulation Roadmap

The development of sustainable advanced nuclear fuel cycles is a long-term goal of the Office of Nuclear Energy’s (DOE-NE) Fuel Cycle Technologies program. The Material Protection, Accounting, and Control Technologies (MPACT) campaign is supporting research and development (R&D) of advanced instrumentation, analysis tools, and integration methodologies to meet this goal. This advanced R&D is intended to facilitate safeguards and security by design of fuel cycle facilities. The lab-scale demonstration of a virtual facility, distributed test bed, that connects the individual tools being developed at National Laboratories and university research establishments, is a key program milestone for 2020. These tools will consist of instrumentation and devices as well as computer software for modeling. To aid in framing its long-term goal, during FY16, a modeling and simulation roadmap is being developed for three major areas of investigation: (1) radiation transport and sensors, (2) process and chemical models, and (3) shock physics and assessments. For each area, current modeling approaches are described, and gaps and needs are identified.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Compact Microscope Imaging System Developed

The Compact Microscope Imaging System (CMIS) is a diagnostic tool with intelligent controls for use in space, industrial, medical, and security applications. The CMIS can be used in situ with a minimum amount of user intervention. This system, which was developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center, can scan, find areas of interest, focus, and acquire images automatically. Large numbers of multiple cell experiments require microscopy for in situ observations; this is only feasible with compact microscope systems. CMIS is a miniature machine vision system that combines intelligent image processing with remote control capabilities. The software also has a user-friendly interface that can be used independently of the hardware for post-experiment analysis. CMIS has potential commercial uses in the automated online inspection of precision parts, medical imaging, security industry (examination of currency in automated teller machines and fingerprint identification in secure entry locks), environmental industry (automated examination of soil/water samples), biomedical field (automated blood/cell analysis), and microscopy community. CMIS will improve research in several ways: It will expand the capabilities of MSD experiments utilizing microscope technology. It may be used in lunar and Martian experiments (Rover Robot). Because of its reduced size, it will enable experiments that were not feasible previously. It may be incorporated into existing shuttle orbiter and space station experiments, including glove-box-sized experiments as well as ground-based experiments.

McDowell, Mark↗

Network Defense Workforce Development System

The software implements the methodology of cybersecurity training architecture and is leveraged to build a turn-key based simulated cyberattack game in which the player assumes the facility manager's role and must defend the OT network from adaptive cyberattacks by directly configuring the physical network environment and implementing security policies.

Gourisetti, Sri Nikhil Gupta↗