Infrastructure protectionDigital ants protect critical infrastructure
As the U.S. electrical power grid becomes more interconnected through the Internet, the chances of cyber attacks increase as well; a Wake Forest University security expert developed “digital ants” to protect critical networks; unlike traditional security approaches, which are static, digital ants wander through computer networks looking for threats such as computer worms, self-replicating programs designed to steal information or facilitate unauthorized use of computers; when a digital ant detects a threat, it summons an army of ants to converge at that location, drawing the attention of human operators to investigate
As the U.S. electrical power grid becomes more interconnected through the Internet — from the nuclear power plant in California to transmission lines in Texas to the microwave in your kitchen — the chances of cyber attacks increase as well.
Wake Forest University’s professor of computer science Errin Fulp is training an army of “digital ants” to turn loose into the power grid to seek out computer viruses trying to wreak havoc on the system.
If the approach proves successful in safeguarding the power grid, it could have wide-ranging applications on protecting anything connected to SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) networks, computer systems that control everything from water and sewer management systems to mass transit systems to manufacturing systems.
A Wake Forest University release reports that Fulp is working this summer with scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington, on the next steps in the digital ants technology, developed by PNNL and Wake Forest over the last several years. The approach is so promising that it was named one of the “ten technologies that have the power to change our lives,” by Scientific American magazine last year.
The power grid is probably more vulnerable to cyber attacks than security experts would like to admit, said Fulp, an expert in security and computer networks. As the grid becomes more and more interconnected, it offers hackers more points to enter the system; for instance, inserting a virus or computer worm into a low security site, such as in your home’s smart grid, to gain access to more secure systems up the line.
“When that network connects to a power source, which connects to the smart grid, you have a jumping off point” for computer viruses, he said. “A cyber attack can have a real physical result of shutting off power to a city or a nuclear power plant.”
The digital ants technology could transform cyber security because it adapts rapidly to changing threats, said Fulp, who has received nearly $250,0000 in grants from PNNL/Battelle Memorial Institute for his ongoing research.
The release notes that unlike traditional security approaches, which are static, digital ants wander through computer networks looking for threats such as computer worms, self-replicating programs designed to steal information or facilitate unauthorized use of computers. When a digital ant detects a threat, it summons an army of ants to converge at that location, drawing the attention of human operators to investigate.
“The idea is to
