A Systems Engineering Approach to Implementing Hardware Cybersecurity Controls for Non-Safety Data Network

A model-based systems engineering (MBSE) approach to implementing hardware-based network cybersecurity controls for APR1400 non-safety data network is presented in this work. The proposed design was developed by implementing packet filtering and deep packet inspection functions to control the unauthorized traffic and malicious contents. Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack was considered as a potential cybersecurity issue that may threaten the data availability and integrity of DCS gateway servers. Logical design architecture was developed to simulate the behavior of functions flow. HDL-based physical architecture was modelled and simulated using Xilinx ISE software to verify the design functionality. For effective modelling process, enhanced function flow block diagrams (EFFBDs) and schematic design based on FPGA technology were together developed and simulated to verify the performance and functional requirements of network security controls. Both logical and physical design architectures verified that hardware-based cybersecurity controls are capable to maintain the data availability and integrity. Further works focus on implementing the schematic design to an FPGA platform to accomplish the design verification and validation processes.