Successful demonstration system for automated cyber security in healthcare

Working prototype

A working prototype of the system was recently demonstrated under realistic conditions in an emulated hospital environment, together with the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI). The prototype was created through TNO’s collaboration with KPN, US software giant VMware, and Dutch company BiZZdesign. It closes the circle of early threat detection, analysis of effective measures, and automatic response.

Ultra-rapid evolution of cyber attacks

The ultra-rapid evolution of sophisticated and automated cyber attacks makes it increasingly challenging for defenders to keep pace with attackers. Traditional methods of human intervention are no longer fit for purpose.

Vital importance

Established in 2020, the Automated Security Operations (ASOP) consortium, which brings together public authorities, science, and industry, aims to further develop the prototype into an interoperable platform that can also automatically fend off cyber threats and attacks in more complex live environments.

It will enable companies and organisations in the Netherlands to further automate their cyber security operations. The availability of this technology is vital to protect the Dutch digital economy and infrastructure in the rapidly changing cyber landscape.

Automatic response

The prototype should result in a platform that automatically responds to both ongoing cyber attacks and newly available intelligence on threats. In both cases, the platform will automatically determine the best possible response based on an analysis of the monitored data streams. As a result, the threat will be repelled without sacrificing business continuity.

Versatile platform

Based on the working prototype, the ASOP platform will be further refined to integrate even better with existing environments where security solutions and modules from different suppliers are present. This makes the platform highly versatile, so that it is able to tackle – live – a wide range of digital threats.

In the ASOP programme, TNO is focusing structurally on Automated Security solutions to make this platform operational in sectors such as government and hospitals, in order to share and receive targeted threat information from sectoral and national Computer Emergency Response Teams such as Z-CERT.