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This study explores the state-of-the-art, application, and maturity of socio-technical security models for industries and sectors dependent on CI and investigates the gap between academic research and industry practices concerning the modelling of both the social and technical aspects of security. Systematic study and critical analysis of literature show that a steady and growing on socio-technical security M&S approaches is emerging, possibly prompted by the growing recognition that digital systems and workplaces do not only comprise technologies, but also social (human) and sometimes physical elements., Comment: 56 Pages, 15 Figures, 4 tables, PETRAS 2 MASS Project Deliverable 2

The UK Critical National Infrastructure is critically dependent on digital technologies that provide communications, monitoring, control, and decision-support functionalities. Digital technologies are progressively enhancing efficiency, reliability, and availability of infrastructure, and enabling new benefits not previously available. These benefits can introduce vulnerabilities through the connectivity enabled by the digital systems, thus, making it easier for would-be attackers, who frequently use socio-technical approaches, exploiting humans-in-the-loop to break in and sabotage an organization. Therefore, policies and strategies that minimize and manage risks must include an understanding of operator and corporate behaviors, as well as technical elements and the interfaces between them and humans. Better security via socio-technical security Modelling and Simulation can be achieved if backed by government effort, including appropriate policy interventions. Government, through its departments and agencies, can contribute by sign-posting and shaping the decision-making environment concerning cybersecurity M&S approaches and tools, showing how they can contribute to enhancing security in Modern Critical Infrastructure Systems., Comment: 7 pages, 5 Figures, Policy Briefing

In January 2019, the UK Government published its Maritime 2050 on Navigating the Future strategy. In the strategy, the government highlighted the importance of digitalization (with well-designed regulatory support) to achieve its goal of ensuring that the UK plays a global leadership role in the maritime sector. Ports, the gateways for 95% of UK trade movements, were identified as key sites for investment in technological innovation. The government identified the potential of the Internet of Things (IoT), in conjunction with other information-sharing technologies, such as shared data platforms, and Artificial Intelligence applications (AI), to synchronize processes within the port ecosystem leading to improved efficiency, safety, and environmental benefits, including improved air quality and lower greenhouse gas emissions., Comment: 4 pages, 3 Figures, Policy Briefing, Based on research funded by EPSR and carried out by UCL STEaPP NIPC-ALIoTT collaboration project under the PETRAS Cybersecurity Hub

This paper presents a mapping framework for design factors and implementation process for building credible Industrial Control Systems (ICS) security testbeds. The resilience of ICSs has become a critical concern to operators and governments following widely publicised cyber security events. The inability to apply conventional Information Technology security practice to ICSs further compounds challenges in adequately securing critical systems. To overcome these challenges, and do so without impacting live environments, testbeds for the exploration, development and evaluation of security controls are widely used. However, how a testbed is designed and its attributes, can directly impact not only its viability but also its credibility as a whole. Through a combined systematic and thematic analysis and mapping of ICS security testbed design attributes, this paper suggests that the expertise of human experimenters, design objectives, the implementation approach, architectural coverage, core characteristics, and evaluation methods; are considerations that can help establish or enhance confidence, trustworthiness and acceptance; thus, credibility of ICS security testbeds., Comment: 17 pages (including Appendix), 2 Figures, 4 Tables, A Research output from the Analytical Lenses for Internet of Things Threats (ALIoTT) project

As new technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) are integrated into Critical National Infrastructures (CNI), new cybersecurity threats emerge that require specific security solutions. Approaches used for analysis include the modelling and simulation of critical infrastructure systems using attributes, functionalities, operations, and behaviours to support various security analysis viewpoints, recognising and appropriately managing associated security risks. With several critical infrastructure protection approaches available, the question of how to effectively model the complex behaviour of interconnected CNI elements and to configure their protection as a system-of-systems remains a challenge. Using a systematic review approach, existing critical infrastructure protection approaches (tools and techniques) are examined to determine their suitability given trends like IoT, and effective security modelling and analysis issues. It is found that empirical-based, agent-based, system dynamics-based, and network-based modelling are more commonly applied than economic-based and equation-based techniques, and empirical-based modelling is the most widely used. The energy and transportation critical infrastructure sectors reflect the most responsive sectors, and no one Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) approach - tool, technique, methodology or framework -- provides a fit-for-all capacity for all-round attribute modelling and simulation of security risks. Typically, deciding factors for CIP choices to adopt are often dominated by trade-offs between complexity of use and popularity of approach, as well as between specificity and generality of application in sectors., Comment: PETRAS/IET Conference Living in the Internet of Things: Cybersecurity of the IoT 2019