Combining Artificial Intelligence planning advantages to assist preliminary formal analysis on Industrial Control System cybersecurity vulnerabilities

This paper provides a novel and practical approach, to check the correctness and completeness of functional specifications (the completeness means complete for one specified function), especially for complex safety critical systems. This approach combines Artificial Intelligence (AI) planning technique, together with formal functional specification, to assist further cybersecurity vulnerability analysis on safety critical Industrial Control System (ICS). The effectiveness of this combination is represented by examples, which are based on a safety critical ICS-Refueling Machine (RM). RMs are widely used in Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). The outcome of this idea is a correct and complete functional specification of specific functions, which is the key foundation for our further safety and security vulnerability analysis, especially for performing analysis based on model checking. This practical checking approach is applicable to further Instrumentation & Control (I&C) systems and platforms.