Today’s cybersecurity strategies are “not sufficiently robust or scalable,” Nuclear Threat Initiative says

The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) recently responded in a post on its website to a U.S. government that accuses Russia of conducting cyberattacks aimed at U.S. and European nuclear power plants and water and electric systems.

“The cyber threat to nuclear facilities is serious, but the challenge going forward is evident,” Dr. Page Stoutland, NTI vice president of scientific and technicals affairs, said in the post. “Threats and vulnerabilities will continue to mount. Today’s strategy is not sufficiently robust or scalable, and a high level of cybersecurity may never be compatible with current nuclear plant business models. Governments, regulators, facility operators, vendors, and experts need to accelerate our efforts to develop new approaches that can scale to the threats of the future.”

Stoutland noted that regulators, plant operators and technical experts in the United States are giving increased attention to the safety and security of nuclear facilities.

He also cited a 2016 NTI study that found that almost half of the countries with relevant nuclear facilities did not have regulations in place for cybersecurity at those facilities.

As more analogy systems become digitized, cyber threats increase, NTI said. Another 2016 report from NTI, Outpacing Cyber Threats: Priorities for Cybersecurity at Nuclear Facilities, summarized the key tenets of a new strategy and urged operators to address issues such as system complexity and the importance of an active defense.

The report also highlighted the importance of developing transformational approaches that would be immune to cyberattacks and improving global technical capacity.