A student works at a desk with a handwritten diagram, a small electronic setup, and a keyboard. A student works at a desk with a handwritten diagram, a small electronic setup, and a keyboard.

Cyber Resilient Interdependent Systems and Infrastructure Solutions (CRISIS) Lab

Securing Operation Technology (OT) systems of critical infrastructure

About

The CRISIS Lab is dedicated to advancing the security and resilience of critical infrastructure systems through innovative research and hands-on training.  

We focus on enhancing cybersecurity in operational technology (OT) systems that underpin vital services like power grids, pipelines, transportation networks, satellites and maritime systems. 

 

Cyber Resilient Interdependent Systems and Infrastructure Solutions (CRISIS) Lab

What We Do

Our work involves:  

  • Developing physical and virtual testbeds  
  • Assessing vulnerabilities and modeling threats
  • Translating risks to economic impact
  • Designing strategies to enhance resilience 

Why It Matters

By securing OT systems, our work ensures that critical services remain safe, reliable and resilient under cyber attacks.

Contact the CRISIS Lab
Director Omer Keskin
ETEC 260P

1220 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12222
United States

Email
[email protected]
Office Hours

Follow the CRISIS Lab on LinkedIn.

Methods & Technical Focus Areas

 

Technical Focus Areas

  • Artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) applications for cybersecurity, including knowledge-graph reasoning, generative AI for threat modeling and intrusion detection
  • Automated attack-generation with large language models (LLMs) for defensive red-team testing and threat emulation
  • Simulating failures in operational technology (OT) systems
  • Modeling cyber insurance for OT
  • Translating technical indicators to organizational risk, monetary impact and return on investment (ROI)
  • Pen-testing Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) networks
  • Digital twins for OT systems

 

A student sits at a desk working on a computer with two monitors displaying coding, diagrams, and 3D simulations.

 

Student Training

Our undergraduate and graduate student researchers learn how to set up ICS networks and gain hands-on experience using PLCs, Arduino and Raspberry Pi 5 for ICS security projects. Visit the Our Team tab for more information.

Collaboration

 

External Partnerships

We welcome collaboration with organizations committed to advancing the security and resilience of cyber-physical systems.

We are especially interested in working with:

  • Operators of critical infrastructure (energy, water, transportation)
  • Emergency management and resilience planners
  • Cyber insurance and risk modeling experts
  • Government agencies and policy makers
  • Research institutions with aligned interests

If your organization is working at the intersection of cybersecurity and critical infrastructure, we invite you to explore potential collaboration opportunities with the CRISIS Lab.

To start a conversation, please contact the CRISIS Lab’s director, Omer Keskin, at [email protected].

 

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Our Team

The CRISIS Lab brings together an interdisciplinary team with expertise spanning cybersecurity, engineering, risk analysis, economics, information science and systems modeling.  

We take an interdisciplinary approach that connects technical depth in operational technology (OT) security, artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), modeling and simulation with strategic insight into management, policy and organizational risk.

We collaborate across departments, disciplines and institutions to tackle complex infrastructure security challenges.

Interested in joining? Please send your résumé or CV to the CRISIS Lab’s director, Omer Keskin, at [email protected]. Please ensure your materials highlight your technical background and include a brief statement explaining your interest in the lab and how you hope to contribute to its mission. 

 

Leadership

Omer Keskin
Omer Keskin
Assistant Professor, Cybersecurity Department
College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity; Department of Cybersecurity
[email protected]
ETEC 260G

Research Team

 

Graduate Students

Faruk Curebal 
PhD Student, Information Science

Philip Akekudaga 
Master's Student, Cybersecurity and Risk

 

Alumni

 

Rian Davis

Robert Pavone

Ethan Fowler

Trenton Hanan

Jacky He

Jie Chen

Lily Plotkin

Robert Wadsworth

Leo Hu

Nick Q. Coppola