Towards a Security Reference Architecture for Cyber- Physical Systems

Published in: Global Partnerships for Development and Engineering Education: Proceedings of the 15th LACCEI International Multi-Conference for Engineering, Education and Technology
Date of Conference: July 19-21, 2017
Location of Conference: Boca Raton, FL, United States
Authors: Virginia Romero, MS. (Florida Atlantic University, US)
Eduardo B. Fernandez, (Florida Atlantic University, US)
Full Paper: #435

Abstract:

Abstract–Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) are physical entities whose operations are monitored, coordinated, controlled and integrated by a computing and communication core. Security for these systems requires solutions that are robust to threats, especially when securing critical infrastructures. Secure systems need to be built in a systematic way, where security and safety are not just add-ons or built in a piece-meal fashion but are able to handle their complexity in a safe and secure holistic way. All lifecycle stages and all architecture levels need to be considered. The only way to provide this unification in the presence of a myriad of implementation details of the component units, is to use abstraction. In particular, we can apply abstraction through the use of patterns and Reference Architectures (RA). The use of Reference Architectures and patterns is a powerful way to organize and describe security and other non-functional aspects and they have the potential to unify the design of the computational, communication, and control aspects of CPSs. In this paper we provide a survey of the current CPS Reference Architectures that will be used as a preamble to define a threat model and a Security Reference Architecture (SRA) to build safe and secure CPS systems.