{"id":207436,"date":"2026-04-30T10:39:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T14:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/30\/why-critical-infrastructure-needs-critical-cybersecurity\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T11:15:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T15:15:10","slug":"why-critical-infrastructure-needs-critical-cybersecurity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/30\/why-critical-infrastructure-needs-critical-cybersecurity\/","title":{"rendered":"Why critical infrastructure needs critical cybersecurity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why critical infrastructure needs critical cybersecurity<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.siliconrepublic.com\/innovation\/ul-cybersecurity-ot-ics-infrastructure-research<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-04-30 10:39:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.siliconrepublic.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Author: <\/a><\/p>\n

Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points.
\n UL\u2019s Dr Muzaffar Rao discusses the professional diploma in OT security programme, and what motivates his research in OT and ICS cybersecurity.<\/p>\n

For Dr Muzaffar Rao, University of Limerick (UL) has been a research base for a number of years.
\nWhen Rao first joined UL in 2013, he was a PhD student conducting research on reconfigurable hardware for security, specifically field programmable gate array (FPGA)\u2011based cryptographic systems.
\nAfter his PhD, Rao began working at the university as a postdoctoral researcher with the Centre for Robotics and Intelligent Systems, a role that Rao says allowed him to further develop \u201cexpertise in hardware\u2011based cryptographic systems\u201d.
\nFast-forward to the current day, and Rao is now an associate professor in the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering at UL, as well as an associate investigator with Lero, the Research Ireland Centre for Software.
\nRao is also the course director of the professional diploma in operational technology (OT) security programme \u2013 a specialised Level 9 programme that Rao says is a \u201cunique offering in Ireland\u201d, as it\u2019s dedicated specifically to OT and industrial control systems (ICS) security.
\nThe primary objective of the programme, according to Rao, is to equip professionals with the practical knowledge and specialised skills required to \u201csecurely integrate IT and OT systems while effectively managing associated cyber risks\u201d.
\n\u201cDeveloped in close collaboration with industry partners, the course focuses on real-world operational challenges, OT-specific threats, relevant legal and regulatory frameworks, and risk mitigation strategies,\u201d he explains.
\n\u201cA strong emphasis is placed on bridging workforce skills gaps to ensure graduates can protect and secure complex operational environments.\u201d
\nRao tells SiliconRepublic.com that recently, the course was provided with the Airbus CyberRange, a simulation and training platform that provides \u201cimmersive, hands-on learning through realistic, scenario-based exercises that reflect real-world critical infrastructure and smart manufacturing systems\u201d.
\nSecuring OT and ICS
\nWhile his duties have expanded to new duties such as teaching and curriculum development, his cybersecurity research continues to be a major part of his post at UL.
\nRao\u2019s current research focuses on strengthening the security and resilience of OT and ICS, particularly in critical infrastructure environments that rely on legacy systems.
\n\u201cThese systems,\u201d he tells us, \u201care often difficult or impossible to patch, replace or take offline, which makes conventional security approaches impractical.\u201d
\nHe says a \u201ccentral strand\u201d of his work involves developing lightweight cryptographic mechanisms specifically tailored for ageing industrial hardware with limited processing power, constrained bandwidth and long operational life cycles \u2013 with the goal of introducing strong security controls without disrupting industrial operations.
\nHe also researches early\u2011warning and intrusion\u2011detection frameworks for \u201cadvanced, including nation\u2011state-level, threats in OT and ICS environments\u201d.
\n\u201cThis includes addressing situations where monitoring is minimal or absent, with particular attention to unmonitored industrial sensors and peripheral devices that create blind spots attackers can exploit.\u201d
\nBut why is this research important?
\nRao explains that much of Ireland\u2019s critical infrastructure \u2013 including energy, water, healthcare and manufacturing \u2013 still depends on \u201cageing operational technology that cannot be easily upgraded or taken offline\u201d.
\n\u201cThese constraints create significant security gaps and make essential services especially vulnerable to sophisticated cyberthreats, including those from nation\u2011state actors targeting industrial systems across Europe,\u201d says Rao.
\n\u201cBy developing lightweight cryptographic solutions suitable for legacy devices, improving early\u2011warning intrusion detection and securing the increasingly interconnected IT\/OT environment, this research directly addresses these risks.
\n\u201cIt enhances system visibility, limits lateral movement by attackers, and strengthens Ireland\u2019s ability to prevent and respond to cyber\u2011physical attacks. Ultimately, this work contributes to national resilience, the continuity of essential services and public safety at a time when cyberattacks are becoming more frequent, targeted and complex.\u201d
\nMisconceptions and motivation
\nRao says he was drawn to this specific area of research because it lies at \u201cthe intersection of fields that have consistently shaped my academic path\u201d.
\nIn fact, he says his PhD research on FPGA\u2011based cryptographic designs naturally exposed him to the \u201cunique and under\u2011addressed security challenges\u201d of OT and ICS.
\n\u201cThese environments depend heavily on legacy hardware that underpins critical infrastructure yet lacks the protections expected in modern IT systems.\u201d
\nOne misconception about his research that Rao often encounters is the belief that improving security in OT and ICS environments is \u201csimply a matter of applying traditional IT security controls or waiting for outdated systems to be replaced\u201d.
\n\u201cIn reality, critical infrastructure rarely has the option of downtime, frequent patching or uniform visibility, and many industrial systems were never designed with security in mind,\u201d he explains.
\nHe adds that there\u2019s also a belief that effective security requires heavy monitoring, expensive hardware or \u201cintrusive changes that risk disrupting operations\u201d. Rao says his research directly challenges this assumption by \u201cdemonstrating that strong security and early intrusion detection can be achieved using lightweight, domain-aware techniques that respect operational constraints\u201d.
\n\u201cThese methods address blind spots such as unmonitored sensors and can detect sophisticated attacks well before they escalate into physical or safety incidents, without disrupting essential services.\u201d
\nWith a number of years spent in this research area, one has to wonder what keeps bringing Rao back to the OT and ICS domain.
\nAs Rao explains to us, he continues to find motivation in \u201cthe combination of intellectual challenge and real\u2011world impact\u201d.
\n\u201cUnlike conventional IT systems, OT environments cannot simply be patched, replaced or taken offline, even as they face increasingly sophisticated nation\u2011state threats and growing IT\/OT convergence,\u201d he says.
\n\u201cDeveloping lightweight cryptography, early\u2011stage intrusion detection and secure architectures under strict resource and operational constraints is both technically demanding and societally important.
\n\u201cThe opportunity to produce research that has practical relevance and contributes directly to the resilience of essential services is what keeps this work compelling for me.\u201d
\nDon\u2019t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the\u00a0Daily Brief, Silicon Republic\u2019s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why critical infrastructure needs critical cybersecurity https:\/\/www.siliconrepublic.com\/innovation\/ul-cybersecurity-ot-ics-infrastructure-research Publish Date: 2026-04-30 10:39:00 Source Domain: www.siliconrepublic.com Author:…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":207437,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.siliconrepublic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/muzaffar_rao_ul_1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[24,31],"class_list":["post-207436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cybersecurity","tag-cybersecurity","tag-exploit"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207436"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207436"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":207438,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207436\/revisions\/207438"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}