DURATION: 01.06.2017 to 31.12.2021
BUDGET: 582,550.00€/9,616,525.18€
FUNDING: Η2020 Prevention, detection, response and mitigation of the combination of physical and cyber threats to the critical infrastructure of Europe, Innovation Action
ABOUT STOP-IT
STOP-IT: Strategic, Tactical, Operational Protection of water Infrastructure against cyber-physical Threats is a four year H2020 Innovation Action project funded by Prevention, detection, response & mitigation of the combination of physical and cyber threats to the critical infrastructure of Europe. Water critical infrastructures (CIs) are essential for human society, life and health and they can be endangered by physical/cyber threats with severe societal consequences. To address this, STOP-IT assembles a team of major Water Utilities, industrial technology developers, high tech SMEs and top EU R&D providers. It organizes communities of practice for water systems protection to identify current and future risk landscapes and to co-develop an all-hazards risk management framework for the physical and cyber protection of water CIs. Prevention, Detection, Response and Mitigation of relevant risks at strategic, tactical and operational levels of planning will be taken into account to generate modular solutions (technologies, tools and guidelines) and an integrated software platform. STOP-IT solutions are based on: a) mature technologies improved via their combination and embedment (incl. public warning systems, smart locks) and b) novel technologies whose TRL will be increased (incl. cyber threat incident services, secure wireless sensor communications modules, context-aware anomaly detection technologies; fault-tolerant control strategies for SCADA integrated sensors, high-volume real-time sensor data protection via blockchain schemes; authorization engines; irregular human detection using new computer vision methods and WiFi and efficient water contamination detection algorithms). STOP-IT solutions are demonstrated through a front-runner/follower approach where 4 advanced utilities, Aigües de Barcelona (ES), Berliner Wasserbetriebe (DE), MEKOROT (IL) and Oslo VAV (NO) are twinned with 4 less advanced, but ambitious ones, to stimulate mutual learning, transfer and uptake. Building on this solid basis STOP-IT delivers high impact through the creation of hands-on training, best practice guidelines, support for certification and standardization as well as by fostering market opportunities, also leveraging the EU water technology platform’s multi-stakeholder network. Read more about STOP IT here.
STOP-IT platform
STOP-IT focuses on the strategic, tactical and operational protection of critical water infrastructures against physical and cyber threats. The STOP-IT team identifies current and future risks and co-develops an all-hazards risk management framework (based on the EU ISO Risk Management Framework (ISO 31000:2009), for the physical and cyber protection of critical water infrastructures. Prevention, detection, response and mitigation of relevant risks at strategic, tactical and operational levels of planning will be taken into account to generate modular solutions (technologies, tools and guidelines) that will be embedded into an integrated, scalable, adaptable and modular software platform.
Our role in the project
Our team has one of the starring roles in the STOP-IT project since we are leading two of the most challenging work packages and significantly contribute to two others. Leading the tasks which are related on assessing and treating the risks at strategic and tactical level, we delivered a plethora of tools (most of them running as web applications) for risk assessment, with an emphasis on water systems modelling and scenario planning development.
These tools were eventually assembled in the Risk Assessment and Evaluation Toolkit (RAET) and the related Framework, which integrates tools through a multilevel workflow for single and multiple cyber-physical scenario assessment. Significant parts of this toolkit which were developed by our team are the intuitive Scenario Planner (SP), the assembly of software solutions named Stress Testing Platform (STP) with the state-of-the-art embedded RISKNOUGHT model and the Key Performance Indicators tool (KPI tool) which deploys the related framework on system performance (both for quality and quantity). The above tools were dynamically integrated by us with the Asset Vulnerability assessment tool (AVAT), the Fault Tree Editor (FTE), the Risk Identification Database (RIDB), the Risk Reduction Measure Database (RRMD) and the semantic enriched Risk Exploration Toolkit (RET) which are also project’s outcomes.
The second leading task was related to on-site integration, demonstration, and validation activities in the Front Runner water utilities. Apart from providing guidance in four different demo sites and closely working as a mentor for the water utilities, our team showed the way for pilots’ demonstration e.g., by suggesting Virtual Machines architecture and development and providing efficient solutions under the facing challenges of security restrictions, COVID-19 issues, etc.
Our team had significant role in the train and transfer activities, but also to the Dissemination, Communication and Route to Market work. With regard to train and transfer, we delivered a course design for multiple user profiles, we developed the related training material and knowledge transfer products with a focus on experimentation and interactive learning, we planned and co-conducted training events with water utilities and we participated in activities related to the standardization and embedding of training material into running Life-Long Learning schemes.
See project’s videos
