Title:
Hardware-based solutions for critical infrastructure security

Abstract:
Cyberattacks on critical infrastructure can have a debilitating effect on national economic security, public health, and safety. The underlying processes of the various critical infrastructure sectors are controlled by Industrial Control Systems (ICS). ICS are transitioning from legacy, electromechanical-based systems to modern information and communication technology-based systems, creating a close coupling between cyber and physical components. This transition greatly expands the attack surface of such systems, as cyberattacks targeting commercial-off-the-shelf hardware and software are well-known. In this talk, we provide an academic perspective to ICS cybersecurity, presenting case studies on cyberattacks and defenses for two critical infrastructure sectors: the power grid and the chemical sector. We also discuss the need for an accurate assessment environment, achieved through the inclusion of Hardware-In-The-Loop testbeds.

Short Bio:
Michail (Mihalis) Maniatakos is an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at New York University (NYU) Abu Dhabi, UAE, and a Research Assistant Professor at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, New York, USA. He is the Director of the MoMA Laboratory (nyuad.nyu.edu/momalab), NYU Abu Dhabi. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, as well as M.Sc., M.Phil. degrees from Yale University. He also received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Computer Science and Embedded Systems, respectively, from the University of Piraeus, Greece. His research interests, funded by industrial partners and the US government, include robust microprocessor architectures, privacy-preserving computation, as well as industrial control systems security. He has authored several publications in IEEE transactions and conferences, holds patents on privacy-preserving data processing, and he is currently the faculty lead for the Embedded Security challenge held yearly at CSAW, Brooklyn, NY.