RITICS

RITICS INFO

Description

Description of problem

Originally designed as self-contained and isolated networks, ICS have evolved to become increasingly interconnected with IT systems and other, wider, networks and services – particularly as the technologies needed to deliver all manner of computing tasks have converged and proliferated. Whilst offering great efficiencies in terms of setup and running costs this trend has exposed ICS to a growing range of vulnerabilities and the potential for large-scale inter-organisational and inter-industry impacts.

Objective

In recognition of these trends RITICS@Imperial focuses on five key areas: 1) Investigating the level of connectedness in different scales of organisations to understand the complexity of network topology and interconnections between critical infrastructures; 2) Conducting quantitative studies on the likeliest propagation paths of potential attacks using the most common ICS-specific threats; 3) Predicting ongoing persistent attacks; 4) Evaluating economic consequences of threats for various scales of organisations including an analysis of a loss of key assets, reputation, confidential data and time for business recovery; 5) Finding the most effective and cost-efficient interventions to mitigate the risks for ICS.

Approach

We have conducted research on a set of attack graph-based risk analyses for ICS in different scales, including both logic-based qualitative assessment and game theoretical quantitative assessment. With the help of the state-of-the-art optimisation techniques, we are then be able to find the most effective mitigation plans for ICS by taking the risk analysis results into account, as well as other considerations on fixed budget, constrained resources, damages of attacks, etc. The project aims to produce models and tools in support of effective interventions.

RITICS Publications

Game Theory and Industrial Control Systems in Semantics, Logics and Calculi
Critical Component Defence vs. Defence-in-Depth for Industrial Control Systems
Models of Interdependency between Safety and Security in Industrial Control Systems
Modelling Cost-efficiency of Defenses in Industrial Control Systems
Modelling Interdependency between Safety and Security of ICS by Bayesian Networks
Modelling Effective Defence against Zero-Day Exploits Using Bayesian Networks
Comparing User-Centric and Vulnerability-based Attack Models Against Industrial Control Systems
Bloom Filters and LSTM Networks for Multi-level Anomaly Detection in Industrial Control Systems
Trends in Cyber Security of Industrial Control Systems

PROJECT PARTICIPANTS

Professor Chris HankinDirector of The Institute for Security Science and Technology

His research is in theoretical computer science, cyber security and data analytics. He leads multidisciplinary projects focussed on developing advanced visual analytics and providing better decision support to defend against cyber attacks.

He is Director of the CPNI/EPSRC Research Institute on Trustworthy Industrial Control Systems. He is the immediate past President of the Scientific Council of INRIA, the French national institute for research in computer science and control. He is Chair of the Academic Resilience and Security Community (Academic RiSC) and sits on the ministerial oversight group of the Security and Resilience Growth Partnership and the steering group of the Home Office Security Innovation and Demonstration Centre.

Dr Deeph ChanaDeputy Director of the Institute for Security Science and Technology, Imperial College London

Deeph is co-founder of RITICS and has research interests in the security of cyber-physical critical infrastructure. He has led the delivery of S&T programs in academia, industry and government (the ‘triple helix’) and previously worked as a senior security S&T government official.

He was responsible for delivering the Department for Transport’s security and resilience research portfolio, developing currently active national security policy and for commissioning one of the first SCADA and ICS vulnerability studies in Whitehall. He has delivered major incident policy advice to four Secretaries of State and has served as chairman on numerous key national and international security policy working groups and committees.

He is currently engaged as a consultant and senior advisor on a number of security and smart-city technology developments in the private sector.

Tingting LiResearch Associate

Tingting Li is currently a Research Associate working on the project RITICS@Imperial and mainly focusing on producing models and tools in support of effective defence for protecting ICS from cyber attacks.

She is based at the Institute for Security Science and Technology, Imperial College London.

Prior to joining the institute, she obtained a PhD degree in Artificial Intelligence (University of Bath, 2014) funded by University Overseas Research Scholarship. She also received MSc degree in Computing (Imperial College London, 2009) and a Bachelor degree in Information Security (Xidian University, 2008).

Her research interests primarily lie in cyber security for industrial control systems, knowledge representation and reasoning, agent-based modelling and multi-agent systems.

PARTNERED WITH

UNIVERSITY INFORMATION

Imperial College London is one of the world’s leading universities. The College’s 14,000 students and 7,500 staff are expanding the frontiers of knowledge in science, medicine, engineering and business, and translating their discoveries into benefits for society.

Founded in 1907, Imperial builds on a distinguished past – having pioneered penicillin, holography and fibre optics – to shape the future. Imperial researchers work across disciplines to improve global health, tackle climate change, develop sustainable energy technology and address security challenges. This blend of academic excellence and its real-world application feeds into Imperial’s exceptional learning environment, where students participate in research to push the limits of their degrees.

Imperial nurtures a dynamic enterprise culture, where collaborations with industrial, healthcare and international partners are the norm. In 2007, Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust formed the UK’s first Academic Health Science Centre. This unique partnership aims to improve the quality of life of patients and populations by taking new discoveries and translating them into new therapies as quickly as possible.

Imperial has nine London campuses, including its White City Campus: a 25 acre research and innovation centre in west London. At White City, researchers, businesses and higher education partners are co-locating to create value from ideas on a global scale.

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