Raw data used to add layer of cyber protection to nuclear plants

Led by Purdue University’s Hany Abdel-Khalik, the collaboration between government and academia will address what the US National Academy of Engineering says is one of the most complex issues engineering has faced.

“Reactors are complex beasts. The nuclear community has a great number of scientists who have spent their entire careers thinking of all the different ways that things could go wrong,” said Abdel-Khalik, an associate professor of nuclear engineering. “Now things are becoming more digital and we’re relying on computers to make decisions, but computers aren’t human. They can make bad decisions if they are given bad data. That’s the advantage hackers could have right now.”

The US Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) has provided funding for the Purdue-led team to develop tools to measure risk and mitigate the effects of a hypothetical security breach. Although nuclear reactors have several built-in safety mechanisms, Abdel-Khalik and his colleagues want to construct another layer of defence.