Helping Future Nuclear Power Facilities Navigate Predatory & Hostile Environments: Insights from Systems Security Engineering
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Williams, Adam David [Sandia National Laboratories↗
SEARCH · Search NASA
Results for “systems security”
Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Security engineering: systems engineering of security through the adaptation and application of risk management
Information Technology (IT) Security Risk Management is a critical task in the organization, which must protect its resources and data against the loss of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. As systems become more complex and diverse, and more vulnerabilities are discovered while attacks from intrusions and malicious content increase, it is becoming increasingly difficult to manage IT security. This paper describes an approach to address IT security risk through risk management and mitigation in both the institution and in the project life cycle.
security↗
Computer access security code system
A security code system for controlling access to computer and computer-controlled entry situations comprises a plurality of subsets of alpha-numeric characters disposed in random order in matrices of at least two dimensions forming theoretical rectangles, cubes, etc., such that when access is desired, at least one pair of previously unused character subsets not found in the same row or column of the matrix is chosen at random and transmitted by the computer. The proper response to gain access is transmittal of subsets which complete the rectangle, and/or a parallelepiped whose opposite corners were defined by first groups of code. Once used, subsets are not used again to absolutely defeat unauthorized access by eavesdropping, and the like.
Collins, Earl R., Jr.↗
Demystifying Cyberattacks: Potential for Securing Energy Systems With Explainable AI : Preprint
Modernization of energy systems has led to in- creased interactions among multiple critical infrastructures and diverse stakeholders making the challenge of operational decision making more complex and at times beyond cognitive capabilities of human operators. The state-of-the-art machine learning and deep learning approaches show promise of supporting users with complex decision-making challenges, such as those occurring in our rapidly transforming cyber-physical energy systems. However, successful adoption of data-driven decision support technology for critical infrastructure will be dependent on the ability of these technologies to be trustworthy and contextually interpretable. In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of implementing XAI for interpretable detection of cyberattacks in the energy system. Leveraging a proof-of-concept simulation use case of detection of a data falsification attack on a photovoltaic system using XGBoost algorithm, we demonstrate how Local Interpretable Model-Agnostic Explanations (LIME), a flavor XAI approach, can help provide contextual and actionable interpretation of cyberattack detection.
artificial intelligence↗
Secure Power Systems Professional Phase III Final Report: Recruiting, Selecting and Developing Secure Power Systems Professionals
With significant numbers of power system experts retiring and a continuing trend of increasing complexity in modern power systems, there is a need throughout the power industry for cybersecurity awareness and competence in tasks that previously had no cyber components. To address these challenges, the U.S. Department of Energy established the Secure Power Systems Professional (SPSP) project to develop resources for job definition and competency analysis along with tools to guide assessment and curriculum design and to help identify and develop required knowledge, skills, and abilities in technical and operational power systems cybersecurity. The major accomplishments in Phase III of the project, which were built upon foundations laid in the first two phases, were (a) development and fielding of a Recruitment Guide for Human Resources and Hiring Managers and a Guide to Developing SPSPs; (b) development of psychometrically validated job profiles for identified SPSP job roles; (c) development of behavioral interview guidelines that list competencies necessary to perform each job role; and (d) development of guidelines that aid in evaluating individual and team performance and that inform strategic planning for organizations in selection, development and retention of SPSP professionals. The outcomes of the project can be immediately applied by human resources professionals, recruiters and hiring managers to assist in the recruitment, selection, and training of SPSPs, as well as to identify needed skills to grow existing employees into SPSPs.
97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
A Multiplex Complex Systems Model for Engineering Security Systems-Slides.
Abstract not provided.
Williams, Adam David↗
CYDRES: CYber Defense and REsilient System for securing grid-interactive efficient buildings
Smart buildings, especially Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings (GEBs), suffer from cyber-attacks and physical faults due to the integration of a large number of sensors and controls, connected devices, and associated communication networks. This study demonstrated a real-time advanced building resilient platform, called CYber Defense and REsilient System (CYDRES), which is deployable for existing and emerging Building Automation Systems (BASs). CYDRES aims to empower GEBs with cyber-attack-immune capabilities through multi-layer prevention and adaptation mechanisms to monitor, detect, and respond to cyber-attacks and physical operational faults. CYDRES is demonstrated through real-time experiments in a Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testbed.
Building automation system, Cyber-attacks, Physica↗
Module-OT: A Turnkey Solution for Securing Energy Systems
The Modular Security Apparatus for Managing Distributed Cryptography for Command-and-Control Messages on Operational Technology Networks (Module-OT) is a flexible and lightweight solution for grid-edge devices focusing on end-to-end security. It is a bump- in- the-wire solution acting as a secure conduit for data between devices or systems across a network. It improves the cybersecurity posture of DER systems by providing authentication, authorization, and data integrity to secure DER communications. Additionally, it performs key management, provides data security through whitelisting Internet Protocol addresses and ports, blocks unauthorized connections, controls user access, and allows serial or Ethernet connections for added flexibility. The core software is portable to various Linux-based operating systems and is developed to be customized by the developer and researcher communities. Module-OT has been validated in the lab, has been demonstrated at a 500-KW PV-plus-storage site, and has been proven ready to secure operational technology devices. Its core functionality meets current standards, including validation procedures of the NIST Cryptographic Algorithm Validation Program (CAVP) and the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS 140-2). Because of its capability to provide an accessible and affordable option for stepping up security across modern energy systems, Module-OT can serve as an effective technological option to standardize cybersecurity moving forward.
cryptography↗
Secure key storage and distribution
This disclosure describes a distributed, fault-tolerant security system that enables the secure storage and distribution of private keys. In one implementation, the security system includes a plurality of computing resources that independently store private keys provided by publishers and encrypted using a single security system public key. To protect against malicious activity, the security system private key necessary to decrypt the publication private keys is not stored at any of the computing resources. Rather portions, or shares of the security system private key are stored at each of the computing resources within the security system and multiple security systems must communicate and share partial decryptions in order to decrypt the stored private key.
97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
SPSP Phase III Recruiting, Selecting, and Developing Secure Power Systems Professionals. Job Profiles
The Secure Power Systems Professional Phase III final report was released last year which an appendix of Job Profiles. This new report is that appendix broken out as a standalone document to assist utilities in recruiting and developing Secure Power Systems Professionals at their site. A major accomplishment during Phase III of the project was the development of psychometrically validated job profiles for four identified SPSP job roles: the secure power systems engineer, incident responder, intrusion analyst, and security operator. The job profiles were produced by integrating the results of Phases I and II to capture the relevant job requirements that would be necessary to accurately predict job performance. They can be immediately applied by human resources professionals, recruiters, and hiring managers to assist in the recruitment, selection, and training of SPSPs, as well as to identify needed skills to qualify and equip existing employees to work as SPSPs.
24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
Analyzing the Static Security Functions of a Power System Dynamic Security Assessment Toolbox
Not Available
Narasimham Arava, V. S.↗
Empirical Insights for a Multi-Layered Network Complex Systems Model for Engineering Nuclear Security Systems-Slides.
Abstract not provided.
Williams, Adam David↗
Security warning system monitors up to fifteen remote areas simultaneously
Security warning system consisting of 15 television cameras is capable of monitoring several remote or unoccupied areas simultaneously. The system uses a commutator and decommutator, allowing time-multiplexed video transmission. This security system could be used in industrial and retail establishments.
Fusco, R. C.↗
Cybersecurity Risk Assessment Framework for Externally Exposed Energy Delivery Systems
Securing the energy delivery system (EDS) from complex, nonlinear, and evolving cyber threats requires a complex set of changing and interwoven classes of technologies, policies, relationships, and personnel. One key area in this technological milieu is assessment methodologies to compare information, gathered by a variety of means, about networked devices with publicly known possible threat information about said devices. This information is used to generate risk-based characterizations that allow for the adjudication and proper corresponding management action chains to be assigned.
Gourisetti, Sri Nikhil G.↗
SPSP Phase III Recruiting, Selecting, and Developing Secure Power Systems Professionals: Individual and Team Performance Guidelines
The pending retirement of significant numbers of power system experts and a continuing trend of increasing complexity in modern power systems prompted the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to establish the three-phase Secure Power Systems Professional (SPSP) project. The project developed resources for job definition and competency analysis along with tools to guide assessment and curriculum design and to help identify and develop required knowledge, skills, and abilities in technical and operational aspects of power systems cybersecurity. The Secure Power Systems Professional Phase III final report was released last year which an appendix of Individual and Team Performance Guidelines. This new report is that appendix broken out as a standalone document to assist utilities in recruiting and developing Secure Power Systems Professionals at their site. Individual/Team Performance Guidelines were developed for each of the four job roles: the secure power systems engineer, incident responder, intrusion analyst, and security operator. They enable an “at-a-glance” view of the multidisciplinary and collaborative nature of SPSP job roles, for which skill sets were studied and then mapped to stories of critical incidents or vignettes. This afforded an enumeration of tasks required of each job role to effectively perform responsibilities and to meet bestpractice goals for that operation. Assignment of these tasks among the job roles, either as an individual responsibility or a collaborative responsibility, was validated during a job performance model analysis. The analysis identified 13 master vignettes from the collection of critical incident stories, many of which shared a common set of job responsibilities and tasks that were grouped into four vignette categories according to the task requirement for effective response to each event.
24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
Random digital encryption secure communication system
The design of a secure communication system is described. A product code, formed from two pseudorandom sequences of digital bits, is used to encipher or scramble data prior to transmission. The two pseudorandom sequences are periodically changed at intervals before they have had time to repeat. One of the two sequences is transmitted continuously with the scrambled data for synchronization. In the receiver portion of the system, the incoming signal is compared with one of two locally generated pseudorandom sequences until correspondence between the sequences is obtained. At this time, the two locally generated sequences are formed into a product code which deciphers the data from the incoming signal. Provision is made to ensure synchronization of the transmitting and receiving portions of the system.
Doland, G. D.↗
Tools, Techniques, and Methodologies: A Survey of Digital Forensics for SCADA Systems
Security aspects of SCADA environments and the systems within are increasingly a center of interest to researchers and security professionals. As the rise of sophisticated and nation-state malware targeting such systems flourishes, traditional digital forensics tools struggle to transfer the same capabilities to systems lacking typical volatile memory primitives, monitoring software, and the compatible operating-system primitives necessary for conducting forensic investigations. Even worse, SCADA systems are typically not designed and implemented with security in mind, nor were they purpose-built to monitor and record system data at the granularity associated with traditional IT systems. Rather, these systems are often built to control field devices and drive industrial processes. More succinctly, SCADA systems were not designed with a primary goal of interacting with the digital world. Consequently, forensics investigators well-versed in the world of digital forensics and incident response face an array of challenges that prevent them from conducting effective forensic investigation in environments with vast amounts of critical infrastructure. In order to bring SCADA systems within the reach of the armies of digital forensics professionals and tooling already available, both researchers and practitioners need a guide to the current state-of-the-art techniques, a road-map to the challenges lying on the path forward, and insight into the future directions R&D must move towards. To that end, this paper presents a survey into the literature on digital forensics applied to SCADA systems. We cover not only the challenges to applying digital forensics to SCADA like most other reviews, but also the range of proposed frameworks, methodologies, and actual implementations in literature.
Asmar Awad, Rima↗
SPSP Phase III Recruiting, Selecting, and Developing Secure Power Systems Professionals: Behavioral Interview Guidelines by Job Roles
The Secure Power Systems Professional Phase III final report was released last year which an appendix of Behavioral Interview Guidelines by Job Roles. This new report is that appendix broken out as a standalone document to assist utilities in recruiting and developing Secure Power Systems Professionals at their site. The complete list of knowledge, skills, and abilities required in each of the studied job roles was assembled into the Behavioral Interview Guidelines. The guidelines were developed to apply the results of Phases I and II in a format that can be used in part or in whole to align workforce capabilities with the strategic goals and tactical focus of a power grid organization. These guidelines may 1) be applied to develop performance reviews or to produce individual professional development programs for existing staff; 2) assist in specifying learning objectives for a training or education program; and 3) be easily incorporated into most human capital software to facilitate development of job descriptions that comply with guidelines established by the Society of Human Resource Management. The guidelines can be immediately applied by human resources professionals, recruiters, and hiring managers to assist in recruiting and interviewing candidates for new SPSP position openings.
24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗