NICSim: Nuclear Instrumentation & Control Simulation for Evaluation Response to Cyber-attacks

Professor El-Genk and researchers Schriener, Altamimi, Hahn, Lamb, and Fasano describe the use of Nuclear Instrumentation and Control Simulation (NICSim) to investigate the cybersecurity of nuclear power plant control systems. Cyberattacks targeting control systems, such as Stuxnet and Crashoverride, have posed prominent and novel threats. NICSim integrates a physics-based dynamic model with digital instrumentation and control systems to evaluate how a reactor would respond to hostile programmable logic controllers (PLCs). Using NICSim, researchers can test how a pressurized water reactor (PWR) and its existing safety systems would behave in real time to malware. This paper provides a highly adaptable testing environment for building physical systems which are resilient to cyberattacks. Information gained from the simulation testing can be incorporated into future cyber-defense strategies as well as next generation control and instrumentation systems of nuclear power plants.