Programmable Logic Controllers for Research on the Cyber Security of Industrial Power Plants
Abstract
Programmable Logic Controllers for Research on the Cyber Security of Industrial Power Plants Program manager: Dr. J. Sukarno Mertoguno O ce of Naval Research Division of Mathematics, Computers, and Information Sciences Research Code 31, Division 311 - Cyber Security & Complex Software Thrust: Information Assurance of Cyber-Physical Systems We are applying for equipment funding to build a research distributed control system (DCS) to support our research on the cyber security of industrial control systems. A DCS is used to monitor and control power plants. A DCS is comprised mainly of control servers and programmable logic controllers (PLCs). The control servers are general-purpose computing platforms, consequently those are not included in the budget of this proposal. The funding will be used to acquire PLCs along with specialized software to run on the control servers. A PLC is a special-purpose computer equipped with I/O modules that enable a PLC to receive input from, and send output to physical processes usually through electrical signals. PLCs in a DCS communicate over industrial commu- nication protocols. A PLC is programmed through one or more programming languages of the IEC-61131-3 industrial standard. We propose to buy PLCs from a vendor called Bachmann elec- tronic GmbH (http://www.bachmann.info). We have studied the components and architecture of a PLC type from Bachmann called M1 controller, and deem that it is the most suitable to support our applied research. The M1 controller runs on a VxWorks operating system, and provides full debugging and development access to its kernel and application space modules. The DCS research testbed will be used for applied research, and to support our courses on industrial control systems and their cyber security. The DCS research testbed will support our research on vulnerability discovery and malware analysis in industrial control systems, as well as big data computing for security intelligence along with defensive cyber deception in industrial control systems.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 12, 2016
- Source ID
- N000141512891
Entities
People
- Julian Rrushi
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- Western Washington University