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This paper is concerned with the issue of the diagnostics of process faults and the detection of cyber-attacks in industrial control systems. This problem is of significant importance to energy production and distribution, which, being part of critical infrastructure, is usually equipped with process diagnostics and, at the same time, is often subject to cyber-attacks. A commonly used approach would be to separate the two types of anomalies. The detection of process faults would be handled by a control team, often with a help of dedicated diagnostic tools, whereas the detection of cyber-attacks would be handled by an information technology team. In this article, it is postulated here that the two can be usefully merged together into one, comprehensive, anomaly detection system. For this purpose, firstly, the main types of cyber-attacks and the main methods of detecting cyber-attacks are being reviewed. Subsequently, in the analogy to “process fault”—a term well established in process diagnostics—the term “cyber-fault” is introduced. Within this context a cyber-attack is considered as a vector containing a number of cyber-faults. Next, it is explained how methods used in process diagnostics for fault detection and isolation can be applied to the detection of cyber-attacks and, in some cases, also to isolation of the components of such attacks, i.e., cyber-faults. A laboratory stand and a simulator have been developed to test the proposed approach. Some test results are presented, demonstrating that, similarly to equipment/process faults, residua can be established and cyber-faults can be identified based on the mismatch between the real data from the system and the outputs of the simulation model.

This article deals with the cyber security of industrial control systems. Methods for detecting and isolating process faults and cyber-attacks, consisting of elementary actions named “cybernetic faults” that penetrate the control system and destructively affect its operation, are analysed. FDI fault detection and isolation methods and the assessment of control loop performance methods developed in the automation community are used to diagnose these anomalies. An integration of both approaches is proposed, which consists of checking the correct functioning of the control algorithm based on its model and tracking changes in the values of selected control loop performance indicators to supervise the control circuit. A binary diagnostic matrix was used to isolate anomalies. The presented approach requires only standard operating data (process variable (PV), setpoint (SP), and control signal (CV). The proposed concept was tested using the example of a control system for superheaters in a steam line of a power unit boiler. Cyber-attacks targeting other parts of the process were also included in the study to test the proposed approach’s applicability, effectiveness, and limitations and identify further research directions.

With the high-speed development of decentralized applications, account-based blockchain platforms have become a hotbed of various financial scams and hacks due to their anonymity and high financial value. Financial security has become a top priority with the sustainable development of blockchain-based platforms because of an increasing number of cyber attacks, which have resulted in a huge loss of crypto assets in recent years. Therefore, it is imperative to study the real-time detection of cyber attacks to facilitate effective supervision and regulation. To this end, this paper proposes the weighted and extended isolation forest algorithms and designs a novel framework for the real-time detection of cyber-attack transactions by thoroughly studying and summarizing real-world examples. Furthermore, this study develops a new detection approach for locating the compromised address of a cyber attack to resolve the data scarcity of hack addresses and reduce time consumption. Moreover, three experiments are carried out not only to apply on different types of cyber attacks but also to compare the proposed approach with the widely used existing methods. The results demonstrate the high efficiency and generality of the proposed approach. Finally, the lower time consumption and robustness of our method were validated through additional experiments. In conclusion, the proposed blockchain-oriented approach in this study can handle real-time detection of cyber attacks and has significant scope for applications.

Modern industrial automation supported by Cyber–Physical Systems (CPSs) requires high flexibility, which is achieved through increased interconnection between modules. This interconnection introduces a layer of symmetry into the design and operation of CPSs, balancing the distribution of tasks and resources across the system and streamlining the flow of information. However, this adaptability also exposes control systems to security threats, particularly through novel communication links that are vulnerable to cyberattacks. Traditional strategies may have limitations in these applications. This research proposes a design approach for control applications supported by CPSs that incorporates cyberattack detection and tolerance strategies. Using a modular and adaptive approach, the system is partitioned into microservices for scalability and resilience, allowing structural symmetry to be maintained. Schedulability assessments ensure that critical timing constraints are met, improving overall system symmetry and performance. Advanced cyberattack detection and isolation systems generate alarms and facilitate rapid response with replicas of affected components. These replicas enable the system to recover from and tolerate cyberattacks, maintaining uninterrupted operation and preserving the balanced structure of the system. In conclusion, the proposed approach addresses the security challenges in CPS-based control applications and provides an integrated and robust approach to protect industrial automation systems from cyber threats. A case study conducted at a juice production facility in Colima, México, demonstrated how the architecture can be applied to complex processes such as pH control, from simulation to industrial implementation. The study highlighted a plug-and-play approach, starting with component definitions and relationships, and extending to technology integration, thereby reinforcing symmetry and efficiency within the system.