Predictive Abuse Detection for a PLC Smart Lighting Network Based on Automatically Created Models of Exponential Smoothing

One of the basic elements of a Smart City is the urban infrastructure management system, in particular, systems of intelligent street lighting control. However, for their reliable operation, they require special care for the safety of their critical communication infrastructure. This article presents solutions for the detection of different kinds of abuses in network traffic of Smart Lighting infrastructure, realized by Power Line Communication technology. Both the structure of the examined Smart Lighting network and its elements are described. The article discusses the key security problems which have a direct impact on the correct performance of the Smart Lighting critical infrastructure. In order to detect an anomaly/attack, we proposed the usage of a statistical model to obtain forecasting intervals. Then, we calculated the value of the differences between the forecast in the estimated traffic model and its real variability so as to detect abnormal behavior (which may be symptomatic of an abuse attempt). Due to the possibility of appearance of significant fluctuations in the real network traffic, we proposed a procedure of statistical models update which is based on the criterion of interquartile spacing. The results obtained during the experiments confirmed the effectiveness of the presented misuse detection method

Road and street smart lighting control systems as a new application area of the hot-potato protocol

This paper presents the new application area of the hot-potato routing protocol, which is a “last-mile” communication network for controlling systems of road and street lighting. Four variants of the hot-potato protocol are analyzed with use of the graph theory. For the assessment of the traffic parameters the ETX parameter is used in relation to the length of the shortest path. Proposed methods are independent of the media type and can be implemented either in wireless or PLC

Secukinumab use in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis in real-world setting in Europe: Baseline data from SERENA study

INTRODUCTION: Secukinumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody that directly inhibits interleukin-17A, has demonstrated robust efficacy in the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis (PsO), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS), with a rapid onset of action, sustained long-term clinical responses and a consistently favourable safety profile across phase 3 trials. Here, we report the clinical data at enrolment from SERENA, designed to investigate the real-world use of secukinumab across all three indications. METHODS: SERENA is an ongoing, longitudinal, observational study conducted at 438 sites across Europe in patients with moderate to severe plaque PsO, active PsA or active AS. Patients should have received at least 16 weeks of secukinumab treatment before enrolment in the study. RESULTS: Overall 2800 patients were included in the safety set; patients with PsA (N = 541) were older than patients with PsO (N = 1799) and patients with AS (N = 460); patients with PsO had a higher mean body weight than patients with PsA and patients with AS; and patients with PsO and patients with AS were predominantly male. Time since diagnosis was longer in patients with PsO compared with patients with PsA and patients with AS, and about 40% of patients were either current or former smokers. The proportion of obese patients (body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m2) was similar across indications. Patients were treated with secukinumab for a mean duration of 1 year prior to enrolment (range 0.89-1.04). The percentages of patients with prior biologics exposure were 31.5% PsO, 59.7% PsA and 55% AS. The percentages of patients prescribed secukinumab monotherapy were 75% (n = 1349) in PsO, 48.2% (n = 261) in PsA and 48.9% (n = 225) in AS groups. CONCLUSION: Baseline demographics of the study population are consistent with existing literature. This large observational study across all secukinumab indications will provide valuable information on the long-term effectiveness and safety of secukinumab in the real-world setting

Errors Nature of the Narrowband PLC Transmission in Smart Lighting LV Network

This paper presents characteristics of the Frame Error Rate versus Signal to Noise Ratio obtained from Smart Lighting LV network. These characteristics are the results of carrying out many field-trials in three locations. During the one-year tests period lighting systems evolved from the traditional, gas-discharge not individually dimmable system to LED or gas-discharge Smart Lighting system controlled with the use of PLC technology every lamp individually. A different influence of the frame length on the F E R ( S N R ) characteristic for the gas-discharge and LED LV networks led to examining the bit errors distribution. The bit errors distribution characteristics of the narrowband PLC transmission over the Smart Metering LV network are also presented in this paper. All the presented data in this work are the results of the long time field-trials, which were verified in the lab conditions

Toward More Efficient and More Secure Last Mile Smart Metering and Smart Lighting Communication Systems with the Use of PLC/RF Hybrid Technology

This paper describes the last mile communication system solutions realized in PLC/RF hybrid technology, which is dedicated to Smart Grid communication subsystems, mainly for Smart Metering and Smart Lighting applications. The use of hybrid technology makes the system more efficient and more secure (still being of low cost, in terms of both implementation and operation). This paper proposes a novel parameter, PDR, to describe the performance of the communications in the last mile network. The communications are realized with the use of the narrowband power line communications technique, the low power wireless communications technique, and the combination of them. The cost analysis for the proposed solution is also done. Theoretical considerations, contained in the paper, are the result of the author's experience in the design, implementation, and operation of the last mile Smart Grid communication systems, realized in the narrowband PLC or 433/868 MHz radio technology. These communication systems were developed for data acquisition and distribution between specific terminals, which are Smart Meters or Smart Lanterns. The aim of this paper is to outline superiorities of the hybrid technology, from which the most important is a low layer protection of the sensitive critical infrastructure, which undoubtedly is a last mile Smart Grid communication network

Retransmission as a Replacement Forward Error Correction in Noiseless LV Networks used for Narrowband PLC

The article describes a project concerned with deploying PLC technology in railway light signals. The proposal increases reliability of communication between railway light signals and the railway automation center, relying on frame retransmissions instead of the FEC technique. The paper presents the results of long-term FER measurements performed in a narrowband PLC-based communication system. The said results are used as communication reliability metrics. Deployment of dual channels in order to increase communication reliability is discussed as well, as is efficiency of FEC-based convolutional coding. The results are verified in a real world environment

Retransmission as a Replacement Forward Error Correction in Noiseless LV Networks used for Narrowband PLC, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2020, nr 2

The article describes a project concerned with deploying PLC technology in railway light signals. The proposal increases reliability of communication between railway light signals and the railway automation center, relying on frame retransmissions instead of the FEC technique. The paper presents the results of long-term FER measurements performed in a narrowband PLC-based communication system. The said results are used as communication reliability metrics. Deployment of dual channels in order to increase communication reliability is discussed as well, as is efficiency of FEC-based convolutional coding. The results are verified in a real world environmen

Pass/Fail Quality Assessment in Last Mile Smart Metering Networks Based on PRIME Interface

The pass/fail form is one of the presentation methods of quality assessment results. The authors, as part of a research team, participated in the process of creating the PRIME interface analyzer. The PRIME interface is a standardized interface—considered as communication technology for smart metering wired networks, which are specific kinds of sensor networks. The frame error ratio (FER) assessment and its presentation in the pass/fail form was one of the problems that needed to be solves in the PRIME analyzer project. In this paper, the authors present their method of a unified FER assessment, which was implemented in the PRIME analyzer, as one of its many functionalities. The need for FER unification is the result of using different modulation types and an optional forward error correction mechanism in the PRIME interface. Having one unified FER and a threshold value makes it possible to present measurement results in the pass/fail form. For FER unification, the characteristics of FER vs. signal-to-noise ratio, for all modulations implemented in PRIME, were used in the proposed algorithm (and some are presented in this paper). In communication systems, the FER value is used to forecast the quality of a link or service, but using PLC technology, forecasting is highly uncertain due to the main noise. The presentation of the measurement results in the pass/fail form is important because it allows unskilled staff to make many laborious measurements in last mile smart metering networks

Anomaly Detection in Smart Metering Infrastructure with the Use of Time Series Analysis

The article presents solutions to anomaly detection in network traffic for critical smart metering infrastructure, realized with the use of radio sensory network. The structure of the examined smart meter network and the key security aspects which have influence on the correct performance of an advanced metering infrastructure (possibility of passive and active cyberattacks) are described. An effective and quick anomaly detection method is proposed. At its initial stage, Cook’s distance was used for detection and elimination of outlier observations. So prepared data was used to estimate standard statistical models based on exponential smoothing, that is, Brown’s, Holt’s, and Winters’ models. To estimate possible fluctuations in forecasts of the implemented models, properly parameterized Bollinger Bands was used. Next, statistical relations between the estimated traffic model and its real variability were examined to detect abnormal behavior, which could indicate a cyberattack attempt. An update procedure of standard models in case there were significant real network traffic fluctuations was also proposed. The choice of optimal parameter values of statistical models was realized as forecast error minimization. The results confirmed efficiency of the presented method and accuracy of choice of the proper statistical model for the analyzed time series