Enhancing Industrial Cybersecurity with Virtual Lab Simulations

The increasing integration of Industrial Control Systems (ICS) within production environments underscores the urgent need for robust cybersecurity measures. However, securing these devices without disrupting ongoing operations presents a significant challenge. This study introduces a virtual laboratory environment that simulates real-world ICS networks, including a misconfigured Active Directory (AD) domain and a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) node, to train cybersecurity professionals in recognizing and mitigating vulnerabilities. We propose a comprehensive setup of virtual machines—Windows Server, Windows Workstations, and Kali Linux—and follow the Purdue model for network segmentation, effectively bridging theory with hands-on practice. Demonstrating various penetration testing tools (e.g., Impacket, Kerbrute, Chisel, Socat, and TeslaCrypt ransomware), this work reveals how a single misconfiguration, such as disabling Kerberos pre-authentication, can cascade into severe breaches, including ransomware attacks on critical devices. Our preliminary results show that the virtual laboratory approach strengthens business continuity and resilience by enabling real-time testing of countermeasures without risking production downtime. This ongoing research aims to provide a practical, adaptable, and standards-aligned solution for cybersecurity training and threat response in industrial setting.

@article{Hmiddouch2025,
  title     = {Enhancing Industrial Cybersecurity with Virtual Lab Simulations},
  journal   = {International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications},
  volume    = {16},
  number    = {5},
  year      = {2025},
  publisher = {The Science and Information Organization},
  author    = {Hamza Hmiddouch and Antonio Villafranca and Raul Castro and Volodymyr Dubetskyy and Maria-Dolores Cano},
  doi       = {10.14569/IJACSA.2025.0160505},
  url       = {https://doi.org/10.14569/IJACSA.2025.0160505}
}