Reconfigurable Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Testbed RFQ

A couple of weeks back I did a post on a solicitation from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for information about establishing a reconfigurable ICS testbed. Well this week NIST published a request for a quote for such a system. The response time for the RFQ is even shorter than the request for information was; it has to be submitted by September 8^th.

The RFQ includes a 17 page description (Word® download link) of the system to be supplied and the actual solicitation notice (.PDF download link). NIST is describing the system this way:

“The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is in the process of developing a cybersecurity test bed for industrial control systems. The goal of this system is to measure the performance of industrial control systems when instrumented with cyber-security protections in accordance with best practices prescribed by national and international standards and guidelines. Examples of such standards and guidelines include IEC-62443 and NIST-800-82. The testbed will include a variety of industrial control simulation scenarios. The first of the scenarios will entail the simulation of a well-known chemical process called the Tennessee Eastman (TE) problem. The TE problem is an ideal candidate for cyber-security investigation because it is an open-loop unstable process that requires closed-loop supervision to maintain process stability and optimize operating costs.”

This is a small business set aside project. Only organizations with fewer than 500 employees should submit quotes. NIST is only accepting quotes via email.

If you did not take a close look at the project when it was announced earlier you might have a hard time getting a quote together in time. On the other hand this would probably be a great project to be involved in.