███╗   ██╗██╗   ██╗ ██████╗██╗     ███████╗ █████╗ ██████╗
    ████╗  ██║██║   ██║██╔════╝██║     ██╔════╝██╔══██╗██╔══██╗
    ██╔██╗ ██║██║   ██║██║     ██║     █████╗  ███████║██████╔╝
    ██║╚██╗██║██║   ██║██║     ██║     ██╔══╝  ██╔══██║██╔══██╗
    ██║ ╚████║╚██████╔╝╚██████╗███████╗███████╗██║  ██║██║  ██║
    ╚═╝  ╚═══╝ ╚═════╝  ╚═════╝╚══════╝╚══════╝╚═╝  ╚═╝╚═╝  ╚═╝

              ██████╗██╗   ██╗██████╗ ███████╗██████╗
             ██╔════╝╚██╗ ██╔╝██╔══██╗██╔════╝██╔══██╗
             ██║      ╚████╔╝ ██████╔╝█████╗  ██████╔╝
             ██║       ╚██╔╝  ██╔══██╗██╔══╝  ██╔══██╗
             ╚██████╗   ██║   ██████╔╝███████╗██║  ██║
              ╚═════╝   ╚═╝   ╚═════╝ ╚══════╝╚═╝  ╚═╝

        S E C U R I T Y   F O R   C Y B E R - P H Y S I C A L
                &   N U C L E A R   S Y S T E M S

CS 581 — Nuclear Cybersecurity

Boise State University · Fall 2026 · 3 Credit Hours
Department of Computer Science · College of Engineering
Instructor: Christopher Spirito

Security is not a product, but a process — and for nuclear systems, that process never stops.

---

What This Repo Is

This is the course materials repository for CS 581. It contains reference materials, example artifacts, and the interactive plant architecture diagram used throughout the semester.

This is not a submission target. Your work goes in the two repositories you create in Week 1. This repo is read-only reference material.

• Canvas Course — assignments, rubrics, announcements, grades
• Plant Architecture Diagram — interactive 11-system nuclear plant map (live)

---

Course Structure

Nine workshops across 16 weeks, each anchored to a system from the nuclear plant architecture. Students select one system as their primary target in Week 1 and apply each subsequent workshop to a system from a sequencing plan they build themselves — all 11 systems must appear across the semester.

Module	Week	Workshop Theme	Workshop Due
M1 — Foundations	1–2	Attack Surface Mapping · System Selection	Sep 8
M2 — Threat Landscape	3–4	Adversary Profiling & Threat Modeling	Sep 21
M3 — Technical Core I	5–6	Protocol Security & Access Control	Oct 5
M4 — Technical Core II	7	ICS/SCADA & Digital I&C Security	Oct 12
M5 — Nuclear Context	8–9	Physical Protection & Regulatory Frameworks	Oct 26
Midterm	10	Personalized incident response scenario (72-hour window)	Nov 2
M6 — Defense & Detection	11–12	Monitoring Strategy & Supply Chain Security	Nov 16
M7 — Incident Response	13	IR in Nuclear Environments	Nov 30
M8 — Advanced & Emerging	14–15	Side Channels · AI & SMRs · Emerging Threats	Dec 7
M9 — Capstone	16	Ethics, Policy & Portfolio Synthesis	Dec 14
Ethics Paper	—	Personalized ethical dilemma (10-day window, issued ~Dec 8)	Dec 18
Portfolio Capstone	—	Integrated executive-level security assessment	Dec 18

---

The 11 Nuclear Plant Systems

Students select from this architecture in Week 1. All 11 systems must appear in the portfolio by the end of the semester.

System	Abbrev	Purdue Zone	Safety Classification
Reactor Protection System	RPS	Level 1	Safety-critical CDA
Digital Control System	DCS	Level 2	Safety-related CDA
Turbine Control System	TCS	Level 2	Balance-of-plant CDA
Spent Fuel Pool Cooling Monitor	SFPCM	Level 1–2	Safety-related CDA
Emergency Diesel Generator Control	EDGC	Level 1	Safety-related CDA
Radiation Monitoring System	RMS	Level 2	Safety / Safeguards CDA
Physical Security Integration	PSI	Level 3–4	Security CDA
Small Modular Reactor I&C	SMR I&C	Level 1–2	Safety-critical (emerging)
Plant Process Computer / Historian	PPC	Level 3	Non-safety support
OT Security Information & Event Mgmt	OT-SIEM	Level 3	Security monitoring
ICT Security Information & Event Mgmt	ICT-SIEM	Level 4	Corporate security

---

Repo Contents

/
├── syllabus.tex              # LaTeX source
├── syllabus.pdf              # Current syllabus (also in Canvas Files)
├── curriculum.md             # Full week-by-week curriculum with readings, roles, KSAs
├── coding-agents-companion.tex / .pdf   # AI tool guidance document
├── plant-architecture.html   # Interactive SVG diagram (served via GitHub Pages)
└── example-student-work/
    └── week-01/              # Jordan Reyes — complete W1 submission
        ├── README.md         # Student persona and context
        ├── system-selection.md
        ├── sequencing-plan.md
        ├── attack-surface-map.md
        ├── session-log.md
        └── tool-selection.json

---

Grade Structure

Component	Points
System Selection & Sequencing Plan	30
Workshops W1–W9 (9 × 30 pts)	270
Midterm Scenario Exercise	100
Ethics Paper	150
Portfolio Capstone	250
Participation	100
Practitioner Engagement	100
Total	1000

---

Key Regulatory References

• 10 CFR 73.54 — NRC cybersecurity rule for nuclear power reactors
• 10 CFR 50 — Domestic licensing of production and utilization facilities
• RG 5.71 — NRC Regulatory Guide: Cyber Security Programs for Nuclear Facilities
• NEI 08-09 Rev. 6 — Cyber Security Plan for Nuclear Power Reactors
• NIST SP 800-82r3 — Guide to Operational Technology (OT) Security
• IAEA Nuclear Security Series — Physical protection and cybersecurity guidance