NSoE DeST-SCI Phase II — Energy Sector • Advancing Singapore's critical infrastructure cybersecurity through research, education, and industry collaboration.
The National Satellite of Excellence in Design Science and Technology for Secure Critical Infrastructure (NSoE DeST-SCI) is a national-level research programme funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Singapore. Phase II focuses on the energy sector, building on the foundational work of Phase I to address increasingly sophisticated cyber threats targeting power generation, transmission, and distribution systems.
As Singapore's energy infrastructure undergoes rapid digitalization — integrating smart meters, distributed energy resources (DERs), industrial IoT devices, and cloud-based grid management platforms — the cyber attack surface expands significantly. This programme brings together leading researchers across multiple Singapore universities to develop holistic, scalable, and deployable cybersecurity solutions for operational technology (OT) environments in the energy sector.
Development of high-fidelity cyber-physical testbeds and digital twins for the energy sector, enabling realistic simulation of cyberattack scenarios, red team/blue team exercises, and evaluation of defensive technologies without risk to live infrastructure.
Design and evaluation of machine learning-based intrusion detection systems tailored to IEC 61850, DNP3, and Modbus protocols used in substations and control centers. Includes generation and curation of high-fidelity labeled datasets for benchmarking.
Research into honeypot and honeynet technologies for smart grid environments, including automated generation of configurable, realistic decoy systems to detect and deflect advanced persistent threats targeting energy infrastructure.
Development of AI-driven frameworks for automated security policy generation and enforcement in IIoT and ICS environments, reducing the manual burden on security operators and improving response times to emerging threats.
Creation of structured cybersecurity training exercises, capture-the-flag (CTF) challenges, and curriculum materials tailored to energy sector OT security, delivered through the national cyber range infrastructure.
The energy sector underpins every aspect of Singapore's smart nation ambitions. A successful cyberattack on grid infrastructure could cascade into failures across transportation, healthcare, water, and communications systems. NSoE DeST-SCI Phase II delivers research-backed, operationally validated defenses while training the next generation of OT cybersecurity professionals needed to protect Singapore's critical infrastructure.
Key deliverables include open-source tools for cyber range generation, publicly available intrusion detection datasets, and industry-adopted security guidelines developed in close consultation with the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and major energy operators in Singapore, such as Singapore Power and PacificLight Power.