PlantShield: An Automated Response Tool for Critical Infrastructures

PlantShield: An Automated Response Tool for Critical Infrastructures

연구 분야: Infrastructure

학회: 2025 International Conference on Computing, Networking and Communications (ICNC)

Cyber physical attacks on an Industrial Control System in a critical infrastructure could disrupt national economy and have far-reaching societal impacts globally. While anomaly detectors are useful in defending against cyberattacks, they fall short in the face of ransomware. During such attacks, engineers often experience partial system visibility, hindering their ability to manually control the plant. This impairment escalates risks to higher management levels. Additionally, the uncertainty of whether the adversary can control the plant or not is merely attacking the business logic that can prompt management to take drastic measures, such as shutting down the plant, which in turn affects dependent systems. This paper addresses these critical issues and proposes a solution. The proposed solution helps gain back system control when under an attack. Even when the attacker has gained access to plant controls, they cannot damage plant components. A version of the solution has been implemented in an operational water treatment plant and validated against typical cyber physical attacks.