Water critical infrastructures (CIs) are essential for human society, life and health. But they can be endangered by physical or cyber threats, with severe societal consequences. To address this, the STOP-IT project assembles a team of major water utilities, EU industries and R&D providers. It organises networks for water systems protection, to identify risk landscapes and to co-develop an all-hazards risk management framework for the physical and cyber protection of water CIs.
Overview of the STOP-IT project
Within the STOP-IT project, prevention, detection, response and mitigation of relevant risks at strategic, tactical and operational levels of planning in water-CIs will be taken into account, in order to generate modular solutions (technologies, tools and guidelines) and an integrated software platform. STOP-IT solutions are based on:
- mature technologies improved via their combination and embedment (including public warning systems and smart locks)
- novel technologies whose technology readiness level will be increased. This includes:
- cyber threat incident services
- secure wireless sensor communications modules
- context-aware anomaly detection technologies
- fault-tolerant control strategies for SCADA integrated sensors (supervisory control and data acquisition)
- high-volume real-time sensor data protection via blockchain schemes
- authorisation engines
- irregular human detection using new computer vision methods
- WiFi and efficient water contamination detection algorithms
Objectives of the project
STOP-IT solutions are demonstrated through a front-runner/follower approach. Four advanced utilities are twinned with 4 less advanced, but ambitious ones, to stimulate mutual learning, transfer and uptake. The advanced utilities are Aigües de Barcelona (ES), Berliner Wasserbetriebe (DE), MEKOROT (IL) and Oslo VAV (NO). Building on this solid basis, STOP-IT delivers high impact through the creation of hands-on training, best practice guidelines, support for certification and standardisation. STOP-IT will also help by fostering market opportunities and leveraging the EU water technology platform’s multi-stakeholder network.
Our involvement in the project
- Within this project, we are responsible for the final exploitation and business plan. This includes supporting all partners to create individual or collaborative exploitation strategies and plans for the results of the project.
- We are also responsible for carrying out a stakeholders and value chain analysis, and to support the work packages for dissemination and exploitation of the project results.
- Finally, we are supplying the ICT infrastructure for communication and document sharing between the project partners and the identified stakeholders.
