Open Platform Infrastructure for Industrial Control Systems Security

The introduction of Docker containers ushered the emergence of microservices to facilitate efficient ways to deploy and manage containerized applications. Digital Twins in Industrial Control Systems (ICS) has enabled advances in the test and evaluation of those systems in a low-cost and non-disruptive manner. In this paper, we present our work on advancing the security of Industrial Control Systems through a four-pronged approach: i) provide a safe training infrastructure for ICS security; ii) present an effective avenue for ICS security testing without operational disruption; iii) implement ICS digital twins to enable ICS security training; and iv) facilitate the design, implementation, and evaluation of ICS security tools. To realize these objectives, we propose the utilization of Open Platform Infrastructure (OPI) with Docker technologies to deploy virtualized Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), also known as softPLC, and Human Machine Interfaces (HMIs) that can emulate or act as digital twins of ICS. Further, we describe several docker containers instantiated from Dockerfiles to emulate typical Information Technology (IT) and Operation Technology (OT) networks to illustrate the viability and affordability of such implementations for teaching, learning, and testing of ICS security.