Nicsim: Nuclear instrumentation & control simulation for evaluating response to cyber-attacks

Mohamed S. El Genk, Timothy Schriener, Ragai Altamimi, Andrew Hahn, Christopher Lamb, Raymond Fasano

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Digital Instrumentation and Control (I&C) systems in critical energy infrastructure, including nuclear power plants, raise cybersecurity concerns. Cyber-attack campaigns have targeted digital Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) used for monitoring and autonomous control. This paper describes the Nuclear Instrumentation and Control Simulation (NICSim) platform for emulating PLCs and investigating potential vulnerabilities of the I&C systems in nuclear power plants. It is being developed at the University of New Mexico's Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies (UNM-ISNPS), in collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), with high fidelity emulytics and modeling capabilities of a physics-based, dynamic model of a PWR nuclear power plant. The NICSim platform would be linked to the SCEPTRE framework at SNL to emulate the response of the plant digital I&C systems during nominal operation and while under cyber-attack.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationNuclear Policy; Nuclear Safety, Security, and Cyber Security; Operating Plant Experience; Probabilistic Risk Assessments; SMR and Advanced Reactors
PublisherAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
ISBN (Print)9784888982566
DOIs
StatePublished - 2020
Externally publishedYes
Event2020 International Conference on Nuclear Engineering, ICONE 2020, collocated with the ASME 2020 Power Conference - Virtual, Online
Duration: Apr 4 2020Apr 5 2020

Publication series

NameInternational Conference on Nuclear Engineering, Proceedings, ICONE
Volume2

Conference

Conference2020 International Conference on Nuclear Engineering, ICONE 2020, collocated with the ASME 2020 Power Conference
CityVirtual, Online
Period04/4/2004/5/20

Keywords

  • Digital instrumentation and control
  • Modeling and simulation
  • Nuclear plant cybersecurity
  • PWR nuclear plant
  • Programmable logic controllers

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Nicsim: Nuclear instrumentation & control simulation for evaluating response to cyber-attacks'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this