233 research outputs found
Cybersecurity of Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems: A Review
Industrial cyber-physical systems (ICPSs) manage critical infrastructures by
controlling the processes based on the "physics" data gathered by edge sensor
networks. Recent innovations in ubiquitous computing and communication
technologies have prompted the rapid integration of highly interconnected
systems to ICPSs. Hence, the "security by obscurity" principle provided by
air-gapping is no longer followed. As the interconnectivity in ICPSs increases,
so does the attack surface. Industrial vulnerability assessment reports have
shown that a variety of new vulnerabilities have occurred due to this
transition while the most common ones are related to weak boundary protection.
Although there are existing surveys in this context, very little is mentioned
regarding these reports. This paper bridges this gap by defining and reviewing
ICPSs from a cybersecurity perspective. In particular, multi-dimensional
adaptive attack taxonomy is presented and utilized for evaluating real-life
ICPS cyber incidents. We also identify the general shortcomings and highlight
the points that cause a gap in existing literature while defining future
research directions.Comment: 32 pages, 10 figure
Preliminaries of orthogonal layered defence using functional and assurance controls in industrial control systems
Industrial Control Systems (ICSs) are responsible for the automation of different processes and the overall control of systems that include highly sensitive potential targets such as nuclear facilities, energy-distribution, water-supply, and mass-transit systems. Given the increased complexity and rapid evolvement of their threat landscape, and the fact that these systems form part of the Critical National infrastructure (CNI), makes them an emerging domain of conflict, terrorist attacks, and a playground for cyberexploitation. Existing layered-defence approaches are increasingly criticised for their inability to adequately protect against resourceful and persistent adversaries. It is therefore essential that emerging techniques, such as orthogonality, be combined with existing security strategies to leverage defence advantages against adaptive and often asymmetrical attack vectors. The concept of orthogonality is relatively new and unexplored in an ICS environment and consists of having assurance control as well as functional control at each layer. Our work seeks to partially articulate a framework where multiple functional and assurance controls are introduced at each layer of ICS architectural design to further enhance security while maintaining critical real-time transfer of command and control traffic
Software Defined Networks based Smart Grid Communication: A Comprehensive Survey
The current power grid is no longer a feasible solution due to
ever-increasing user demand of electricity, old infrastructure, and reliability
issues and thus require transformation to a better grid a.k.a., smart grid
(SG). The key features that distinguish SG from the conventional electrical
power grid are its capability to perform two-way communication, demand side
management, and real time pricing. Despite all these advantages that SG will
bring, there are certain issues which are specific to SG communication system.
For instance, network management of current SG systems is complex, time
consuming, and done manually. Moreover, SG communication (SGC) system is built
on different vendor specific devices and protocols. Therefore, the current SG
systems are not protocol independent, thus leading to interoperability issue.
Software defined network (SDN) has been proposed to monitor and manage the
communication networks globally. This article serves as a comprehensive survey
on SDN-based SGC. In this article, we first discuss taxonomy of advantages of
SDNbased SGC.We then discuss SDN-based SGC architectures, along with case
studies. Our article provides an in-depth discussion on routing schemes for
SDN-based SGC. We also provide detailed survey of security and privacy schemes
applied to SDN-based SGC. We furthermore present challenges, open issues, and
future research directions related to SDN-based SGC.Comment: Accepte
A review of cyber-ranges and test-beds:current and future trends
Cyber situational awareness has been proven to be of value in forming a comprehensive understanding of threats and vulnerabilities within organisations, as the degree of exposure is governed by the prevailing levels of cyber-hygiene and established processes. A more accurate assessment of the security provision informs on the most vulnerable environments that necessitate more diligent management. The rapid proliferation in the automation of cyber-attacks is reducing the gap between information and operational technologies and the need to review the current levels of robustness against new sophisticated cyber-attacks, trends, technologies and mitigation countermeasures has become pressing. A deeper characterisation is also the basis with which to predict future vulnerabilities in turn guiding the most appropriate deployment technologies. Thus, refreshing established practices and the scope of the training to support the decision making of users and operators. The foundation of the training provision is the use of Cyber-Ranges (CRs) and Test-Beds (TBs), platforms/tools that help inculcate a deeper understanding of the evolution of an attack and the methodology to deploy the most impactful countermeasures to arrest breaches. In this paper, an evaluation of documented CR and TB platforms is evaluated. CRs and TBs are segmented by type, technology, threat scenarios, applications and the scope of attainable training. To enrich the analysis of documented CR and TB research and cap the study, a taxonomy is developed to provide a broader comprehension of the future of CRs and TBs. The taxonomy elaborates on the CRs/TBs dimensions, as well as, highlighting a diminishing differentiation between application areas
LICSTER -- A Low-cost ICS Security Testbed for Education and Research
Unnoticed by most people, Industrial Control Systems (ICSs) control entire
productions and critical infrastructures such as water distribution, smart grid
and automotive manufacturing. Due to the ongoing digitalization, these systems
are becoming more and more connected in order to enable remote control and
monitoring. However, this shift bears significant risks, namely a larger attack
surface, which can be exploited by attackers. In order to make these systems
more secure, it takes research, which is, however, difficult to conduct on
productive systems, since these often have to operate twenty-four-seven.
Testbeds are mostly very expensive or based on simulation with no real-world
physical process. In this paper, we introduce LICSTER, an open-source low-cost
ICS testbed, which enables researchers and students to get hands-on experience
with industrial security for about 500 Euro. We provide all necessary material
to quickly start ICS hacking, with the focus on low-cost and open-source for
education and research
KYPO4INDUSTRY: A Testbed for Teaching Cybersecurity of Industrial Control Systems
There are different requirements on cybersecurity of industrial control systems and information technology systems. This fact exacerbates the global issue of hiring cybersecurity employees with relevant skills. In this paper, we present KYPO4INDUSTRY training facility and a course syllabus for beginner and intermediate computer science students to learn cybersecurity in a simulated industrial environment. The training facility is built using open-source hardware and software and provides reconfigurable modules of industrial control systems. The course uses a flipped classroom format with hands-on projects: the students create educational games that replicate real cyber attacks. Throughout the semester, they learn to understand the risks and gain capabilities to respond to cyber attacks that target industrial control systems. Our described experience from the design of the testbed and its usage can help any educator interested in teaching cybersecurity of cyber-physical systems
Comprehensive Survey and Taxonomies of False Injection Attacks in Smart Grid: Attack Models, Targets, and Impacts
Smart Grid has rapidly transformed the centrally controlled power system into
a massively interconnected cyber-physical system that benefits from the
revolutions happening in the communications (e.g. 5G) and the growing
proliferation of the Internet of Things devices (such as smart metres and
intelligent electronic devices). While the convergence of a significant number
of cyber-physical elements has enabled the Smart Grid to be far more efficient
and competitive in addressing the growing global energy challenges, it has also
introduced a large number of vulnerabilities culminating in violations of data
availability, integrity, and confidentiality. Recently, false data injection
(FDI) has become one of the most critical cyberattacks, and appears to be a
focal point of interest for both research and industry. To this end, this paper
presents a comprehensive review in the recent advances of the FDI attacks, with
particular emphasis on 1) adversarial models, 2) attack targets, and 3) impacts
in the Smart Grid infrastructure. This review paper aims to provide a thorough
understanding of the incumbent threats affecting the entire spectrum of the
Smart Grid. Related literature are analysed and compared in terms of their
theoretical and practical implications to the Smart Grid cybersecurity. In
conclusion, a range of technical limitations of existing false data attack
research is identified, and a number of future research directions is
recommended.Comment: Double-column of 24 pages, prepared based on IEEE Transaction articl
A Virtual Hydroelectric Power System for Distributable Industrial Control System Security Research
Cyber security for industrial control systems (ICS) has been a rapidly growing area of interest and research for the last several years. The lack of an easily distributable platform on which ICS components can be built for use in security testing and result comparison among researchers presents a major issue. This thesis details the use of a virtual testbed environment to build a representative virtual hydroelectric power system (VHPS). The VHPS generates realistic Modbus/TCP network traffic between two separate ICS devices, a Master and a Slave, located on separate VMs. For security testing purposes, a method of session hijacking has been implemented as well as a Function Code Scan attack and a Setpoint Manipulation attack. The virtual environment, the VHPS, and the attacks have been packaged into an LXDE-based Fedora Spin VM for easy distribution
A Systematic Review of the State of Cyber-Security in Water Systems
Critical infrastructure systems are evolving from isolated bespoke systems to those that use general-purpose computing hosts, IoT sensors, edge computing, wireless networks and artificial intelligence. Although this move improves sensing and control capacity and gives better integration with business requirements, it also increases the scope for attack from malicious entities that intend to conduct industrial espionage and sabotage against these systems. In this paper, we review the state of the cyber-security research that is focused on improving the security of the water supply and wastewater collection and treatment systems that form part of the critical national infrastructure. We cover the publication statistics of the research in this area, the aspects of security being addressed, and future work required to achieve better cyber-security for water systems
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