Risk assessment of OT and IT infrastructure components

Over 18,000 systems, including those of numerous government agencies and corporations, as well as 15 critical infrastructure companies in gas, oil, electricity, and manufacturing, were affected by the SolarWinds supply chain attack, resulting in an estimated recovery cost of over 100 billion1. This attack highlights the increased interconnectivity between IT networks and OT systems due to the growth in data processing needs and the adoption of Industrial Internet-of- Things (IIoT) devices. However, manufacturers often neglect security considerations and release potentially vulnerable IIoT devices, which can be easily exploited by adversaries.
Poorly designed devices may allow the execution of arbitrary commands and firmware reprogramming, which can have a profound impact on the security and resiliency of OT systems.
Despite existing security mechanisms to enhance IoT/IT security, many research and operational issues remain unsolved and unimplemented in practice. This project address some of the existing gaps and focus on the accurate risk assessment of OT/IT networks.

Faculty Supervisor:

Natalia Stakhanova

Student:

Partner:

International Minerals Innovation Institute;Cameco Corporation (Saskatoon, SK);Nutrien;BHP

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Mining; Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of Saskatchewan

Program: