Projects

Current Projects

Simulated & Virtual SCADA Systems

The simulation of SCADA systems for security study can be a complex but rewarding practice. This project focuses on developing accurate ways to simulate the physical nature of energy system dynamics as well as vitualizing the control used to manage these systems. Virtualization of these SCADA systems also allows us to study their security in a low cost and safe manner.

Anomaly Detection of SCADA Packet Captures

Packet captures of SCADA traffic typically are comprised of MODBUS traffic. MODBUS is a standard protocol for these systems that have been in place for over 30 years. These packet captures can be used as a way to characterize a SCADA system and observe abnormal changes that could signal or forewarn a cyber attack.

Automated Generation of Attack Graphs for Industrial Control

Often times the compromise of a SCADA system works through several steps. Most attacks usually require more than one point of security breach. For example, an attacker may get into a system with a fishing email. Once the fishing email is opened the attacker downloads malware into the system. This malware is used to sniff passwords and eventually access critical parts of the SCADA infrastructure. Our team is working on a method for automatically developing attack graphs based the network topology of a SCADA architecture. These graphs will also use traditional system safety information in the future. This way we can meld the engineering and cyber-safety of these systems.