Trusted Operation of Cyber-Physical Processes Based on Assessment of the System's State and Operating Mode

Area of Science:

• Cyber-physical systems
• Control theory
• Data analysis

Background:

• Ensuring the trusted operation of cyber-physical systems (CPS) is critical.
• Assessing system state and operating mode is key to reliable performance.
• Anomalies can arise from system failures or deliberate cyber-attacks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a method for detecting anomalies in CPS behavior.
• To assess the trustworthiness of CPS control processes based on sensor data.
• To differentiate between normal operation, system stress, and cyber-attacks.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing probability theory and mathematical statistics for data processing and normalization.
• Analyzing sensor data for deviations from expected operating modes and control states.
• Employing cyber-physical parameters to reflect system interaction with physical processes.
• Defining anomaly metrics based on sensor value confidence intervals and parameter change monitoring.

Main Results:

• The proposed method successfully distinguishes between trusted, uncertain, and untrusted system states.
• A case study on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) demonstrated high accuracy in detecting cyber-attacks without false positives during normal operation.
• The trust score effectively indicates system stability, with scores near zero signaling instability or attack.

Conclusions:

• The developed method provides a robust approach for anomaly detection in CPS.
• It enables reliable identification of system faults and cyber-attacks with minimal prior system knowledge.
• The findings support the implementation of software solutions for enhanced CPS security and reliability.