Critical Infrastructure: Nuclear Reactor, Materials, and Waste Sector

Introduction

The sector includes:

Nuclear power plants.
Non-power nuclear reactors used for research, testing, and training.
Manufacturers of nuclear reactors or components.
Radioactive materials used primarily in medical, industrial, and academic
settings.
Nuclear fuel cycle facilities.
Decommissioned nuclear power reactors.
Transportation, storage, and disposal of nuclear and radioactive waste.
 Critical Infrastructure: Nuclear Reactor, Materials, and Waste Sector
Introduction

The US leads the World in the

number of Nuclear Reactors (99
total)
20% of Total US Power Production
comes from Nuclear Power Plants
Nuclear Power Plants are more
efficient than traditional Fossil Fuel
Plants
Considered Clean Less waste by
volume, and doesnt contribute to
Climate Change
Increased Worldwide Reliance on
Nuclear power.
 Critical Infrastructure: Nuclear Reactor, Materials, and Waste Sector
Interdependent Sectors

Interdependent with the following Sectors:

Chemical: Chemicals are used in Energy Production
Energy: Nuclear plants produce energy, and require constant energy for
containment
Healthcare/Public Health: Radioactive medical materials (Nuclear Medicine)
Transportation: Nuclear/Radioactive materials shipped worldwide
Water & Wastewater: Large quantities of water required for plant cooling and
operation
 Critical Infrastructure: Nuclear Reactor, Materials, and Waste Sector
Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition

SCADA Systems:
Centralized Monitoring of Critical Systems and Programmable Logic Controllers
(PLCs)
Reactor Temp, Spent Fuel Pool Temp, Water Flow, Power Generation, etc.
Increase efficiency vs. Manual Equipment Operation (less personnel)
Improved Safety**
Increased vulnerability to Cyberattacks
 Critical Infrastructure: Nuclear Reactor, Materials, and Waste Sector
The Internet of Things

Power Companies are seeking to leverage the IOT for improvements

Excelon Generation and Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG)
Modernizing their Nuclear Plants through the IOT
Creating a Digital Power Plant for monitor/analyze virtually every system remotely
Improving Plant Efficiencies to reduce O&M Costs
Smart-Grid integration amongst multiple powergeneration platforms (Fossil Fuel, Hydro,
Nuclear, etc)
The IOT is a double-edged providing greater visibility on plant systems while creating
move vectors of attack from potential adversaries
 Critical Infrastructure: Nuclear Reactor, Materials, and Waste Sector
Types of Attacks
Insider vs. Outsider
E.g.Terrorists, Disgruntled Employee, Environmental Activists
Mitigation through Physical Security, Entry Control, Personnel Screening, etc
Physical vs Cyber
Unauthorized entry, compromise of computer systems
Mitigation through barriers (fencing), Entry Control, Hardening, Cybersecurity
Theft vs Sabotage/Disruption
Theft of Uranium/Plutonium for sale
Theft of intellectual property for espionage
Disruption of service to cripple the electrical grid
Mitigation through Asset Management, Hardening, Entry Control