This article examines the impact of cybersecurity on the performance of industrial control systems (ICS). Control systems are embedded in essentially all engineered systems, such as our cars, homes, offices, industrial plants, and in critical infrastructures such as power plants, water treatment plants, and transportation systems. To ensure the security of ICS, particularly for critical infrastructures, standards are being developed to ensure ICS cybersecurity. The NIST ICS cybersecurity testbed will be constructed to facilitate the measurement of industrial process performance for systems instrumented with cybersecurity technologies. This testbed will allow for validation of existing security standards and guidelines and will allow researchers to provide valuable feedback to the community on methods, practices, and pitfalls when applying a cybersecurity program to an ICS. Additional work will be required to identify new use cases and pertinent performance metrics. The testbed will provide an opportunity for collaboration between government, research institutions, and industry partners. Interested parties are encouraged to contact the authors directly to discuss opportunities for collaboration.
Measuring Impact of Cybersecurity on the Performance of Industrial Control Systems
Keith Stouffer has been with the Engineering Lab at NIST for 25 years focusing on ICS security since 2000. Mr. Stouffer is the lead author of NIST Special Publication 800-82, Guide to Industrial Control Systems Security, which provides guidance on how to secure ICS while addressing their unique performance, reliability and safety requirements. Mr. Stouffer has also provided input to the ISA/ IEC 62443 and NERC CIP security standards. During his career, he has received Gold and Bronze Medals from the Department of Commerce and the Gov30 Security Award. Mr. Stouffer holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland.
Rick Candell has twenty years of experience in telecommunications with emphasis on tactical radio and satellite-based tracking systems. Mr. Candell spent twelve years developing, testing, and deploying secure wireless technologies for the US Army. He was an important contributor in developing cost-saving technologies for the US Army fleet tracking system. He holds patents related to successive interference cancellation and transmission burst detection. Mr. Candell recently joined the NIST Engineering Laboratory where he is applying his wireless networking and information security knowledge to industrial control systems. Mr. Candell holds an MSEE degree from the University of Memphis.
Stouffer, K., and Candell, R. (December 1, 2014). "Measuring Impact of Cybersecurity on the Performance of Industrial Control Systems." ASME. Mechanical Engineering. December 2014; 136(12): S4–S7. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2014-Dec-5
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