The National Institute of Standards and Technology has issued a request for public comment for a draft special publication on a zone-based high-performance computing system reference model.

NIST’s Computer Security Resource Center said Monday it published a guidance that includes an HPC system’s common features as well as its challenges and security aspects.

IT protection has become a challenge for supercomputers because of their complexity, size and continuous evolution. CSRC developed the reference model to address this vulnerability.

SP 800-223, also known under the title High-Performance Computing Security: Architecture, Threat Analysis, and Security Posture, was created in accordance with the National Strategic Computing Initiative. It aims to standardize the security status of HPC systems, which have become a widespread tool in science and industry.

The agency is accepting feedback for the initial public draft of the special publication until April 7.