THE PROJECT

Communications play a fundamental role in the economic and social well-being of the citizens and on operations of most of the CIs. Thus they are a primary target for criminals having a multiplier effect on the power of attacks and providing enormous resonance and gains. Also extreme weather events and natural disasters represents a challenge due to their increase in frequency and intensity requiring smarter resilience of the Communication CIs, which are extremely vulnerable due to the ever-increasing complexity of the architecture also in light of the evolution towards 5G, the extensive use of programmable platforms and exponential growth of connected devices. The fact that most enterprises still manage physical and cyber security independently represents a further challenge.

RESISTO platform is an innovative solution for Communication CIs holistic situation awareness and enhanced resilience (aligned with ECSO objectives). Based on an Integrated Risk and Resilience analysis management and improvement process availing all resilience cycle phases (prepare, prevent, detect, absorb, etc.) and technical resilience capabilities (sense, model, infer, act, adopt). RESISTO implements an innovative Decision Support System to protect communication infrastructures from combined cyber-physical threats exploiting the Software Defined Security model on a suite of state of the art cyber/physical security components (Blockchain, Machine Learning, IoT security, Airborne threat detection, holistic audio-video analytics) and services (Responsible Disclosure Framework) for detection and reaction in presence of attacks or natural disasters.

Through RESISTO, Communications Operators will be able to implement a set of mitigation actions and countermeasures that significantly reduce the impact of negative events in terms of performance losses, social consequences, and cascading effects in particular by bouncing efficiently back to original and forward to operational states of operation.

The RESISTO project will foster the following key innovation areas:

1. Enlarged Threat Landscape considered (Cyber/Phy/ Cyber+Phy)

2. Holistic approach to System Modelling

3. Integrated Risk and Resilience management

4. Convergence of PSIM and Cyber Protection technology

5. Perspective: new challenges posed by 5G evolution (IoT/IoE, LPWAN)

6. New Technology for detection/protection/response (blockchain, drones, machine learning algorithms, software defined security)

7. Cyber Intelligence

OBJECTIVE

Objective #1

Help managers of Communication CIs to guarantee improved business and asset continuity, delivering an innovative platform for optimized decision support in the face of physical, cyber and combined cyber-physical

Objective #2

Develop an Integrated Risk and Resilience analysis and management tool, that takes account of cyber and/or physical threats and disruptions jointly at the level of telecommunication service functions and performance functions

Objective #3

Provide, experiment and assess a suite of innovative cyber/physical security solutions for prevention, protection, detection and reaction that can deliver unprecedented cost-effective performances in a holistic technology framework

Objective #4

Support a progressive adoption path for the RESISTO platform and services through extensive validation in relevant use cases for Communication Infrastructure protection (TRL 7) directly involving relevant Communication CI operators, arising awareness and promoting a joint approach to resilience

Objective #5

Contribute to the European Programme for Critical Infrastructure Protection and to the objectives of the Cybersecurity Strategy of the European Union (as well as convergence of of safety and security standards and Directive 2009/140 EC regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services)

STRUCTURE OF THE PROJECT

The RESISTO Workplan is organised in 10 Work-packages, whose relationships are described in figure.

RESISTO practitioners are active from M1, contributing to the analysis of the context and the definition of the trials. Operational scenarios will be tested in advance through desktop exercise to perform Risk and Resilience assessment and set the reference KPIs used for the trial phase evaluation. The RESISTO Pert Diagram aside illustrates the interconnections between the WPs and the overall implementation.

Based on this approach, an overview of the RESISTO WP structure is presented below:

WP 1 > “Management, Societal Compliance and Advisory”

WP 2 > “Use Cases and holistic systems modelling”

WP 3 > “Cyber-physical risk/resilience assessment and improvement process for preparation: prevention and protection”

WP 4 > “Tools and techniques for Monitoring and Detection of cyber-physical threats”

WP 5 > “Algorithms and actions for Real time Response and Mitigation”

WP 6 > “RESISTO platform integration”

WP 7 > Operational validation scenario #1: (Improving of resilience of) Current telco Infrastructures

WP 8 > Operational validation scenario #2: (Improving of resilience of) interconnected CIs

WP 9 > Operational validation scenario#3: (Improving of resilience of) future 5G telco Infrastructures

WP10 > “Dissemination, Exploitation and Innovation Management”

EXPECTED RESULTS

• State-of-the-art analysis of physical/cyber detection technologies and risk scenarios of Communication CIs

• Innovative tools, concepts, and technologies for combatting combined physical/cyber threats to Communication Cis (RESISTO framework).

• Security risk management plans integrating systemic and both physical and cyber aspects

• Extended validation of the RESISTO framework against physical/cyber threats across three verticals: current, future (towards 5G) and interconnected Communication infrastructures

• Convergence of safety and security standards, establishment and dissemination throughout the relevant user communities of specific models for information sharing on incidents, threats and vulnerabilities. Support to ECSO

OUR PARTNERS

(RM3 third party) is responsible of Dissemination, Communication and awareness raising activities