Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Cyber-Resiliency (CR)
SCADA System Employed at Industrial Wastewater Treatment Facility
Water reclamation facilities are highly-regulated critical infrastructure systems. Given their role in protecting public health, the need to safeguard their process control computer networks, called Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, from cyber-attacks is vital.
Unfortunately, integration of SCADA systems with the internet exposes them to a number of potential cyber-security threats. SCADA embedded malware can result in a multitude of public health threats including the discharge of waterborne pathogens, chemical carcinogens and other contaminants into drinking water and/or surface water systems.
CEL engineers in collaboration with US Air Force computer scientists have been developing a novel cyber-resiliency artificial intelligence approach to protect SCADA systems from embedded malware called evolutionary computation. In this approach, self-replicating computer code, commonly known as digital organisms, are encouraged to evolve into desirable, malware-free, SCADA software by rewarding those programs that learn how to execute specific tasks called “fitness functions” with additional amounts of energy resources.