Verifiable Process Monitoring Through Enhanced Data Authentication

To ensure the peaceful intent for production and processing of nuclear fuel, verifiable process monitoring of the fuel production cycle is required. As part of a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-EURATOM collaboration in the field of international nuclear safeguards, the DOE Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) and Directorate General-Energy (DG-ENER) developed and demonstrated a new concept in process monitoring, enabling the use of operator process information by branching a second, authenticated data stream to the Safeguards inspectorate. This information would be complementary to independent safeguards data, improving the understanding of the plant's operation. The concept is called the Enhanced Data Authentication System (EDAS). EDAS transparently captures, authenticates, and encrypts communication data that is transmitted between operator control computers and connected analytical equipment utilized in nuclear processes controls. The intent is to capture information as close to the sensor point as possible to assure the highest possible confidence in the branched data. Data must be collected transparently by the EDAS: Operator processes should not be altered or disrupted by the insertion of the EDAS as a monitoring system for safeguards. EDAS employs public key authentication providing `jointly verifiable' data and private key encryption for confidentiality. Timestamps and data source are also added to the collected data for analysis. The core of the system hardware is in a security enclosure with both active and passive tamper indication. Further, the system has the ability to monitor seals or other security devices in close proximity. This paper will discuss the EDAS concept, recent technical developments, intended application philosophy and the planned future progression of this system.JRC.E.9-Nuclear security (Ispra

Robust image analysis with sparse representation on quantized visual features

10.1109/TIP.2012.2219543IEEE Transactions on Image Processing223860-871IIPR

Wireless Communications for Monitoring Nuclear Material Processes PART II: Wireless In-plant Data Transmission

The wireless transmission of data from sensors, monitoring both static and dynamic safeguards processes, is highly appealing for the simple fact that there are no wires. In a nuclear safeguards regime, this has the implied benefits of low-cost installations, versatile configurations, and the elimination of conduits to inspect. However, with the implied solutions of wireless, we are presented with a new set of problems for system implementation and operation management, in particular (i) Radio Frequency (RF) interference and (ii) security in information transmission. These problems are addressable. This paper looks at the clear benefits of wireless technologies and the cautions regarding the possible pitfalls of poorly applied technology, discusses the integration of radio frequency in existing and new facilities, provides high-level considerations for information security, and reviews prospects for the future.JRC.G.8-Nuclear safeguard

Enhanced Data Authentication System (EDAS): Concept, Demonstration and Applications

Within the framework of the Safeguards R&D collaboration agreement between the US DoE and the EURATOM Community, Sandia National Laboratories, JRC-ITU (Ispra) and DG-Energy (Luxembourg) engaged in a collaborative project aiming at providing Safeguards authentication for a nuclear facility owned sensor or instrument. The main underlying idea is to use operator's owned devices for Safeguards purposes. The concept is the Enhanced Data Authentication System (EDAS). EDAS transparently captures, authenticates, and encrypts communication data that is transmitted between operator control computers and connected sensor points utilized in nuclear processes controls. The intent is to capture information as close to the sensor point as possible to assure the highest possible confidence in the authenticity of the collected data. To achieve this, an EDAS prototype was demonstrated at JRC, Ispra. In its current version, EDAS can be used with sensors or instruments that can be interfaced via an RS-232 or RS-485 communication port both for data output and input (configuration). The demonstration included the real-time authentication of data coming from sensors used in Process Monitoring (i.e., pressure sensors Mensor 6180 and 6100) or Surveillance (i.e., Laser Measurement System SICK LMS-200). The paper discusses the motivation behind EDAS, describes its most relevant technical features, and details the results of the demonstration held at Ispra in April 2010 for both EURATOM and IAEA inspectorates. Finally, the paper will discuss the next steps for development and evaluation including future potential applications of this system.JRC.E.8-Nuclear security (Ispra

A user interface for interactive cinematic shadow design

Placing shadows is difficult task since shadows depend on the relative positions of lights and objects in an unintuitive manner. To simplify the task of the modeler, we present a user interface for designing shadows in 3d environments. In our interface, shadows are treated as first-class modeling primitives just like objects and lights. To transform a shadow, the user can simply move, rescale or rotate the shadow as if it was a 2d object on the scene’s surfaces. When the user transforms a shadow, the system moves lights or objects in the scene as required and updates the shadows in realtime during mouse movement. To facilitate interaction, the user can also specify constraints that the shadows must obey, such as never casting a shadow on the face of a character. These constraints are then verified in real-time, limiting mouse movement when necessary. We also integrate in our interface fake shadows typically used in computer animation. This allows the user to draw shadowed and non-shadowed regions directly on surfaces in the scene

Juvenile Blueback Herring (Alosa aestivalis) Survival Via Turbine and Spillway

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