Network Control for Industrial Control Systems

Technology Licensing Opportunity - This is not a procurement. Network Control for Industrial Control Systems Designed to Protect Against Several Classes of Cyberattack Opportunity: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), managed and operated by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA), is offering the opportunity to enter into a license and/or collaborative research agreement to commercialize the Network Control for Industrial Control Systems technology. Background: An experiment conducted in 2005 by INL found that with little knowledge of control systems and their protocols, one could send unauthorized traffic on a network, thereby creating disruptions, and blind the operator to operations of the control system. From this experimental work, INL researchers understood traditional IT-centric tools were not adequate for this application. Better and more focused tools needed to be developed that are “ICS-aware,” (i.e. able to dive into the application layer and determine which messages were legitimate and which were not. The problem was that the tools and equipment were not open; network operating systems and firewalls relied on proprietary code that could not easily be modified by the end user. With the relatively recent advent of software defined networking (SDN), changes have been noted in the market. Description: Researchers at INL have created custom code allow SDN to monitor and control at the application (protocol) layer, thereby enabling rules specific to control systems to be created and changed in real time. The basic premise is to create what can be thought of as a control system for network traffic. The traditional network switch becomes a controller, much like a PLC or RTUE in a traditional control system. Additionally, the system includes a human-machine interface in order to present an operational picture of the network to the operator and allow them to control traffic in real time, using an out-of-band channel that prevents the HMI or controller from being compromised. Applications: The Network Control technology will be of most interest to companies interested in fine tuning industrial and/or hard-to-manage protocols, as well as companies that wish to lower the risk of intrusions by limiting the type of industrial commands that can cross their OT network. This could include end users, network equipment manufacturers, and control system manufacturers. Advantages: Alternative systems appear to be software-only solutions designed to be installed in just a few locations in a network. INL’s system is the only technology to include both a hardware and software solution fully scalable to protect large systems, which can consist of thousands of individual endpoints monitoring hundreds of thousands of input/output points. INL’s solution extends SDN for a scalable solution that can be applied to most, if not all, OT protocols using the same basic mechanisms. Impact: This technology has the potential to greatly impact the security of Industrial Control Systems. This security results in greater piece of mind and potential cost savings from not having to retroactively deal with security threats and issues. Development: This technology has been tested at bench-scale to demonstrate technical feasibility and functionality. IP Status: Patent Application No. PCT/US/36787, “Smart Network Switching Systems and Related Methods.” INL is seeking to license the above intellectual property to a company with a demonstrated ability to bring such inventions to the market. Exclusive rights in defined fields of use may be available. Please visit Technology Deployment’s website at https://inl.gov/inl-initiatives/technology-deployment for more information on working with INL and the industrial partnering and technology transfer process. Companies interested in learning more about this licensing opportunity should contact Jon Cook at [email protected].