Multi-Stage Retrieval for Operational Technology Cybersecurity Compliance Using Large Language Models: A Railway Casestudy

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Bolton, Regan, Sheikhfathollahi, Mohammadreza, Parkinson, Simon, Basher, Dan, Parkinson, Howard
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Bolton, Regan
Sheikhfathollahi, Mohammadreza
Parkinson, Simon
Basher, Dan
Parkinson, Howard
author_facet Bolton, Regan
Sheikhfathollahi, Mohammadreza
Parkinson, Simon
Basher, Dan
Parkinson, Howard
contents Operational Technology Cybersecurity (OTCS) continues to be a dominant challenge for critical infrastructure such as railways. As these systems become increasingly vulnerable to malicious attacks due to digitalization, effective documentation and compliance processes are essential to protect these safety-critical systems. This paper proposes a novel system that leverages Large Language Models (LLMs) and multi-stage retrieval to enhance the compliance verification process against standards like IEC 62443 and the rail-specific IEC 63452. We first evaluate a Baseline Compliance Architecture (BCA) for answering OTCS compliance queries, then develop an extended approach called Parallel Compliance Architecture (PCA) that incorporates additional context from regulatory standards. Through empirical evaluation comparing OpenAI-gpt-4o and Claude-3.5-haiku models in these architectures, we demonstrate that the PCA significantly improves both correctness and reasoning quality in compliance verification. Our research establishes metrics for response correctness, logical reasoning, and hallucination detection, highlighting the strengths and limitations of using LLMs for compliance verification in railway cybersecurity. The results suggest that retrieval-augmented approaches can significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of compliance assessments, particularly valuable in an industry facing a shortage of cybersecurity expertise.
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publishDate 2025
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spellingShingle Multi-Stage Retrieval for Operational Technology Cybersecurity Compliance Using Large Language Models: A Railway Casestudy
Bolton, Regan
Sheikhfathollahi, Mohammadreza
Parkinson, Simon
Basher, Dan
Parkinson, Howard
Artificial Intelligence
Cryptography and Security
Operational Technology Cybersecurity (OTCS) continues to be a dominant challenge for critical infrastructure such as railways. As these systems become increasingly vulnerable to malicious attacks due to digitalization, effective documentation and compliance processes are essential to protect these safety-critical systems. This paper proposes a novel system that leverages Large Language Models (LLMs) and multi-stage retrieval to enhance the compliance verification process against standards like IEC 62443 and the rail-specific IEC 63452. We first evaluate a Baseline Compliance Architecture (BCA) for answering OTCS compliance queries, then develop an extended approach called Parallel Compliance Architecture (PCA) that incorporates additional context from regulatory standards. Through empirical evaluation comparing OpenAI-gpt-4o and Claude-3.5-haiku models in these architectures, we demonstrate that the PCA significantly improves both correctness and reasoning quality in compliance verification. Our research establishes metrics for response correctness, logical reasoning, and hallucination detection, highlighting the strengths and limitations of using LLMs for compliance verification in railway cybersecurity. The results suggest that retrieval-augmented approaches can significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of compliance assessments, particularly valuable in an industry facing a shortage of cybersecurity expertise.
title Multi-Stage Retrieval for Operational Technology Cybersecurity Compliance Using Large Language Models: A Railway Casestudy
topic Artificial Intelligence
Cryptography and Security
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.14044