3/25/2025 Cassandra Smith
Written by Cassandra Smith
Keeping our infrastructure safe is in the lifeblood of the University of Illinois Grainger College of Engineering. From power grids to water systems, researchers are finding ways to improve the security and resilience of these critical services and are often using digital twins to do it.
Digital twins are virtual replicas of real-world structures that enable engineers, analysts, researchers, architects, responders, and organizations to simulate and test different scenarios based on the challenges they aim to address. As part of the Industrial Control Systems Virtualized Testbed Project which is funded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate through Illinois’ Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute (CIRI) - a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence - students learn how to apply this technology in practical settings.
The use of digital twins is not a new concept. The manufacturing industry has long relied on digital mock-ups to optimize production and design. Today, digital twins are widely used across various fields, including academic research, Navy training programs for aircraft mechanics, and instructional simulations for nuclear power operators learning to maintain and repair reactors.
Casey O’Brien, associate director for cyber defense education and training in Illinois’ Information Trust Institute, which houses CIRI, co-teaches and directs a security lab course that uses digital twins as part of its curriculum. This course will be offered every fall for upperclassmen and graduate students in computer science/electrical and computer engineering.
The class is Security Laboratory (CS 460/ECE 419). O’Brien directs the course and co-teaches it alongside ITI Director David Nicol and researcher Matthew Luallen. They examine various topics in this hands-on class, including operational technologies and the Internet of Things. “The idea with the class is we expose students to topics they’re not getting in any of their other computer science or electrical & computer engineering classes,” said O’Brien.
With support from contractor Patria Security, Luallen teaches students how to engage with and control a wind turbine while exploring unique aspects of compromising and securing these systems. The digital twin technology is powered by Patria’s Operational Technology Simulator (OT-sim), which connects a network of sensors to physical objects - ranging from individual turbines to entire city blocks - to create a virtualized model for simulation and analysis. O’Brien said the students used to have just one turbine assigned to them to dissect using the digital twin. However, this past fall, the individual turbines were connected together creating a wind turbine farm and thus simulating the disaster that could happen if they were all to become compromised.
"The impact of a wind turbine compromise depends on its power output and the community's reliance on wind energy - communities that depend heavily on wind power face greater consequences when disruptions occur."
This course prepares students to meet the high demands of the cybersecurity industry and ensures the security of communities and their infrastructure