In view of the emerging cyber-physical threats against urban water systems and the latest EU Directives on cybersecurity and resilience of critical entities, the PROCRUSTES workshop on “Managing cyber-physical risks in urban water systems” was held on the 3rd of February. The workshop was organized and hosted by NTUA with the support of the Association of Municipal Water and Sewerage Utilities (E.D.E.Y.A.).
The participants, representatives of EDEYA utility-members across Greece, were engaged in an interactive meeting with presentations, hands-on demonstration and open discussions that focused on issues of analysis, management, and strategic response to emerging cyber-physical risks in urban water networks, and the provisions of the European and national legal frameworks for critical infrastructures.
With the keynote speech of Ioannis Alexakis, Head of the Directorate for Cybersecurity Strategic Planning in the General Secretariat of Telecommunications and Posts at the Ministry of Digital Governance, participants gained a better understanding over the newly published NIS2 Directive, the national cyber-security agenda as well as best-practices for the protection and resilience of systems, through the Hellenic Cybersecurity Handbook.
The main research outcomes of the PROCRUSTES project were presented by Prof. Christos Makropoulos Scientific Responsible of PROCRUSTES, who highlighted the risk management platform and the capabilities it offers, among others, in supporting informed decision-making for resilient water services, the standardization of risk assessment procedures as well as supporting the strategic (re-)designing of urban water systems for the digital era. Participants had the opportunity to explore and get familiar with the PROCRUSTES platform and its components, through a hands-on demonstration.
This workshop provided a unique opportunity to discuss and raise awareness over the cyber-physical resilience of water systems at national scale, and establishing a promising communication path between government, research and practice.
The Project PROCRUSTES has duration three years (23/12/2019-22/12/2022) and is funded by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.) under the “First Call for H.F.R.I. Research Projects to support Faculty members and Researchers and the procurement of high-cost research equipment grant” (Project Number: HFRI-FM17-2918)
