ZIBERURA, Industrial Cybersecurity for Critical Water Infrastructure

General Data

Program: Hazitek 2024
Period: 2024-2026
Consortium: Opscura, Jakincode, Riskless Integral, Irontec, Dominion, Batura, Hispavista, Ceit, Vicomtech, Hispavista Labs.

Business Need for Industrial Cybersecurity

In 2023, rising global tensions led to more cyberattacks on critical infrastructure. The conflicts prompted adversaries and hacktivists to develop new tactics and repurpose old techniques. At the same time, ransomware attacks on industrial organizations grew by 50%.

The water sector has been one of the hardest hit, with a significant increase in cyberattacks. Furthermore, regulations have tightened in the US, Europe, Australia, Asia, and the Middle East. In the EU, the NIS2 Directive establishes common cybersecurity requirements for all Member States.

Given this context, companies in the sector must adopt specific cybersecurity solutions. Protecting water infrastructure is key to preventing attacks that could seriously impact water management in cities.

Innovative Solution Proposed for the Water Sector

The ZIBERURA project investigates industrial cybersecurity in the water sector. Its first objective is to define a reference architecture. Based on this, a hybrid pre-production environment will be created with physical, virtual, and digital twin assets. This environment will include water purification and distribution systems for conducting offensive and defensive security tests (Red Team vs. Blue Team).

Before the cybersecurity study, the impact of cyberattacks will be assessed on three levels: economic, environmental, and social. The maturity of the cybersecurity solutions implemented in ZIBERURA will also be analyzed.

Finally, best practices and recommendations will be proposed for applying the security controls developed in production environments in the water sector.

Technological Research at ZIBERURA:

• Creation of a hybrid pre-production environment in critical infrastructures in the water sector for offensive and defensive security tests.
• Automation of the secure deployment of software updates for cybersecurity solutions, ensuring real-time updates.

According to patent studies, publications, and commercial offerings, these investigations are unprecedented worldwide.

Another innovative aspect is the joint cybersecurity assessment. This includes an analysis of the economic, environmental, and social impact of simulated attacks using real-world tools and current regulations. The maturity of existing cybersecurity solutions will also be assessed, an issue that has not been addressed in the industry until now.

How to contribute from your mobile device

BATURA’s technological challenge within ZIBERURA focuses on interaction with mobile systems within the water supply chain and the tools to be developed as user interfaces within the project:

• Application of Visual Analytics technologies.
• Application of cybersecurity technologies, data control, and contingency against external attacks, bots, and malware in app and mobile environments.

In short, the ZIBERURA project was born as a unique industrial cybersecurity project that seeks to respond to these two critical needs within the water sector: the annual increase in the number of cyberattacks and the tightening of the regulatory framework.