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US standards body plans a cyber-security test-bed
Published:  13 August, 2014

The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is developing a cyber-security test-bed for industrial control systems. The aim is to measure the performance of industrial control systems when fitted with cyber-security protection in accordance with best practices prescribed by national and international standards and guidelines such as IEC-62443 and NIST-800-82.

The test-bed will include a variety of industrial control simulation scenarios. The first of these will entail the simulation of a chemical process called the Tennessee Eastman (TE) problem. This is said to be an ideal candidate for cyber-security investigation because it is an unstable open-loop process that requires closed-loop supervision to maintain process stability and to optimise operating costs.

NIST is first conducting market research on the proposal and after it has analysed the results and developed specifications, it may conduct a competitive procurement for the test-bed.

NIST has issued draft specifications for the test-bed and is seeking responses from vendors that can satisfy these requirements.