Work of iia’s Gamma Working Group presented at ICONS 2024

The fourth IAEA International Conference on Nuclear Security (ICONS 2024) was held in Vienna, Austria from 20-24 May 2024.  Since 2013, this meeting has become a key event for the nuclear security community with more than 2400 registered participants in 2020. ICONS 2024 provided a global forum for policymakers, senior officials and nuclear security experts to discuss the future of nuclear security worldwide, whilst providing opportunities for exchanging information, sharing best practices and fostering international cooperation.

In 2022 the iia’s Gamma Working Group (GWG) initiated a project to develop cybersecurity guidance specifically for the gamma irradiation industry.  A partnership was formed with Sandia National Laboratories that could provide nuclear cybersecurity experts and has a close relationship with the US Office of Radiological Security (ORS) that has already published Cybersecurity Best Practices for Users of Radioactive Material. As a first step of the GWG project, a cybersecurity assessment was performed at a volunteer European gamma irradiator in order to better understand the specific cybersecurity considerations for an operator of a gamma irradiator. In addition to enabling this better understanding  and informing the development of the guidance document, the assessment also aimed to recommend irradiator cybersecurity improvements and highlight good practice of the operator.

A summary of the project to date and details of the cybersecurity assessment was presented at ICONS 2024. Major elements and activities of the assessment were discussed, as well as lessons learned, operator good practices and future activities for this evolving project.

Please contact Martin Comben if you have an interest in participating in the GWG or its cybersecurity project.