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Long-distance Remote Security Diagnostics during Maintenance Testing: A Practical Application and Evaluation

Authors:
Kazutaka Matsuzaki
Masatoshi Enomoto
Kenji Sawada

Keywords: Industrial Control Systems (ICS), Remote Security Diagnostics, Maintenance Testing

Abstract:
This extended abstract introduces an initial application of long-distance remote security diagnostics for Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), focusing on Industrial Control Systems (ICS) during maintenance testing. Through the Internet, a distance of 350 kilometers was bridged to conduct a preliminary security assessment of a building automation system. Emphasizing the importance of monitoring essential functions of ICS, such as digital outputs and serial communication, we utilized a pair of devices designed to encapsulate digital outputs using TCP/IP, enabling remote monitoring at the test device over a temporally configured site-to-site Virtual Private Network (VPN). Despite an average network latency of 33 milliseconds and an approximate delay of around 3 seconds for digital outputs, the system was able to effectively communicate changes in the essential services of the control systems to the test device. Preliminary results underline the feasibility of this long-distance approach, setting the stage for future work on comprehensive real-world demonstrations using diverse simulated control systems, namely factory automation and gas plant control systems. The goal is to advance the field of remote security diagnostics during maintenance testing, providing reliable and effective security evaluation of CPS.

Pages: 74 to 75

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2023

Publication date: September 25, 2023

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2162-2116

ISBN: 978-1-68558-092-6

Location: Porto, Portugal

Dates: from September 25, 2023 to September 29, 2023