Industrial processing facilities, like those used for chemical and petroleum engineering projects, have benefited from the constant technological advancements of modern societies. While technology can help boost a facility's efficiency, it also boosts dependence on digital technology — increasing vulnerability to cyber threats that can interrupt operations and compromise safety.
Led by Dr. Faisal Khan, department head of the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering and Director of the Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center (MKOPSC) at Texas A&M University, researchers have published a paper addressing the challenge of protecting processing facilities from cyber threats through a newly established framework, which highlights current problems and outlines proposed solutions.
Once cyber attackers gain access to a facility's industrial control systems, the priority shifts from threat prevention to ensuring that critical operations can continue safely and without severe consequences.
"Our goal was to create a framework that identifies vulnerabilities, detects abnormal activity in real-time, and provides safeguards and mitigation strategies that enable the system to absorb changes introduced by an intruder while maintaining safe and resilient plant operations," Khan said.
Researchers recognized that most threats to industrial control systems originate from the operation technology environment, which monitors and controls physical devices and processes using hardware and software. If a cyber-attack breaches this environment, the plant's productivity and safety are both at risk.
Ensuring processing facilities and their critical infrastructures are safe from cyber threats protects surrounding areas from fuel shortages, power outages and water supply contamination. Many functions of day-to-day life rely heavily on processing facilities, and a cyber-attack on a plant can cause chaos in the affected areas. To prevent these catastrophes, researchers have emphasized the importance of real-time detection and deflection of cyber threats.
"Industrial control systems were not designed for cybersecurity, so safeguarding them takes more than blocking access," said Dr. Rajeevan Arunthavanathan, a former post-doctoral researcher at MKOPSC and current assistant professor at the University of Regina, Canada. "Our framework keeps plants safe with real-time detection, mitigation and digital twins that test changes before they cause harm."
Researchers hope to further prepare their framework for practical use in real industrial environments. The team plans to explore how early detection methods from IT systems can be effectively integrated with digital twin solutions, as this can support rapid response during cyber-attacks and serve as a pilot laboratory environment where unknown threats can be tested safely before they affect actual operations.
"Cybersecurity is no longer just an IT issue; it is a safety issue for the entire process industry, said Khan. "This work provides a roadmap for industries to strengthen resilience in their operations, protect communities, and ensure that the critical services people depend on remain reliable even under cyber threat."
This framework's development reflects a truly collaborative initiative of Texas A&M researchers, with each contributor bringing unique expertise to the complex issue of cybersecurity.
Collaborating with Khan and Arunthavanathan on this research are Dr. Kalyan Raj Kota of the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, Dr. Tanjin Amin and Dr. Zaman Sajid from MKOPSC, and Professor of Practice Shreyas Kumar from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Texas A&M.
Funding for this research is administered by the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), the official research agency for Texas A&M Engineering.
By Alyssa Schaechinger, Texas A&M University College of Engineering
