Module 20 Lesson 5: AI security in Critical Infrastructure and ICS

This is the highest level of risk. AI is now being integrated into Power Grids, Water Treatment, and Industrial Control Systems (ICS).

1. AI-Driven Predictive Maintenance Attacks

AIs are used to predict when a turbine or a pump is going to break.

• The Attack: Signal Poisoning. An attacker infiltrates the sensor network (OT network). They "Smooth out" the data that shows a coming failure.
• The Result: The "Predictive AI" reports "All Green," but the turbine is actually wobbling. It eventually explodes because the humans trusted the "Clean" AI report.

---

2. The "Stuxnet" of AI

Traditional cyber-attacks (like Stuxnet) were hand-coded. An AI-powered attack could "Optimize" the sabotage.

• The Attack: The AI watches the normal operations of a factory for 3 months. It then calculates the exact millisecond to change a valve's pressure to cause a catastrophic failure without triggering an alarm.

---

3. Securing the "OT-to-AI" Bridge

Operational Technology (OT) networks are usually "Air-gapped" (disconnected from the internet).

• The Problem: AI models often run in the Cloud.
• The Vulnerability: Connecting an OT system to a Cloud AI creates a "Tunnel" that an attacker can use to jump from the internet into the physical power grid.
• The Fix: Edge Inference. The model must run on a physical "NVIDIA Jetson" or similar device inside the factory, with zero internet connectivity.

---

4. Adversarial Physics

AI models in this sector are "Physis-Informed."

• The Risk: An attacker can use "Adversarial Reinforcement Learning" to find a "Physical State" (a combination of pressure, heat, and speed) that is logically "Safe" according to the model but physically "Destructive" to the hardware.

---

Exercise: The Infrastructure Guardian

1. Why is "Cloud AI" generally a bad idea for a Nuclear Power Plant?
2. What is the difference between "Cyber-Security" and "Physical-Security" in this module?
3. How can you use "Redundancy" (comparing an AI's prediction with a simple analog sensor) to stop a poisoning attack?
4. Research: What is "NIST SP 800-82" (Guide to Industrial Control Systems Security) and how does it relate to newer AI components?

---

Summary

You have completed Module 20: Sector-Specific AI Security. You now understand that while the "Basics" are the same, the "Consequences" and "Architectures" differ wildly between a bank, a hospital, and a power plant.

Next Module: The Horizon: Module 21: The Future of AI (In)Security.