"Israel's New Cyber-Kinetic Lab Will Boost the Resilience of Critical Infrastructure"
The National Cyber-Kinetic Lab for Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and Operational Technology (OT) is a new governmental lab that is taking shape at the Advanced Technologies Park in Be'er Sheva, Israel's "cyber capital." It will serve as a sandbox for testing computing devices embedded in physical processes and simulating cyberattacks on scaled-down models of real-life industrial and critical ICS. It is a collaboration between the Israel Ministry of Energy (MoE) and the Israel National Cyber Directorate (INCD). Real-world production sites cannot be used to test the cyber and physical resilience of critical infrastructure systems in a safe and effective manner. Knowledge gained from simulated attacks has limitations, and unplanned "testing" through actual attacks should be avoided. Therefore, a cyber-kinetic testing lab is ideal for cyber authorities, government agencies, government-owned firms, and private sector businesses that manage the vital infrastructure for the security of the nation and its residents. The National Cyber-Kinetic Lab for ICS and OT is the first of its kind in Israel, though it is not the first of its kind in the world. It is said to be unique in that it will house several scaled-down ICS models, including a power production facility, a water purification plant, and a building management system. The lab's initial clients will be Israel's critical infrastructure institutions, as well as Israeli startups looking to innovate and create new cybersecurity solutions for critical infrastructure systems. However, the plan for next year is to open it up to collaboration with the rest of the private sector and international companies and countries. The lab will allow for a wide range of testing. The kinetic modules cover the entire technology stack and enable users to test various pieces of equipment against specific scenarios as well as different security measures, solutions, and configurations. The goal is to gain a better understanding of how specific cyberattacks would affect specific utilities' OT and how to improve their cyber resilience. This article continues to discuss the setup and goal of Israel's new cyber-kinetic lab.