Virtual Environment for Researching Information Security of a Distributed ICS

Nowadays, industrial control systems are increasingly subject to cyber-attacks. In this regard, the relevance of ICS modeling for security research and for teaching employees the basics of information security is increasing. Most of the existing testbeds for research on information security of industrial control systems are software and hardware solutions that contain elements of industrial equipment. However, when implementing distance-learning programs, it is not possible to fully use such testbeds. This paper describes the approach of complete virtualization of technological processes in ICS based on the open source programmable logic controller OpenPLC. This enables a complete information security training from any device with Internet access. A unique feature of this stand is also the support of several PLCs and a lower-level subsystem implemented by a distributed I/O system. The study describes the implementation scheme of the stand, and several case of reproduction of attacks. Scaling approaches for this solution are also considered.