The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, in Laurel, in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory, is leading the development of the first-ever comprehensive, integrated and automated solution for industrial control systems cybersecurity.
Known as MOSAICS – from “More Situational Awareness for Industrial Control Systems” – the working prototype has already demonstrated its value to the U.S. Navy, which is expanding its deployment of the system after initial testing demonstrated a 100 percent success rate with fewer than 1 percent false positives.
MOSAICS was initially envisioned simply as an ICS cyberattack detection system. APL leveraged its expertise in systems engineering and ongoing work in Integrated Adaptive Cyber Defense to develop MOSAICS into a true ICS operational defense capability. The resulting capability allows ICS operators to detect and characterize cyberattacks on their systems in real time, and will eventually support automated (and even autonomous) response and recovery protocols.
“MOSAICS represents a major step forward from existing solutions – the transition from a haphazard and piecemeal cybersecurity approach to an all-encompassing, integrated capability that can be used in the field,” said Ray Yuan, APL’s Cyber Operations Mission Area executive. “It aggregates and applies existing technology in a synchronized way that hasn’t been accomplished before.”