Traceable Security-by-Design Decisions for Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) by Means of Function-Based Diagrams and...

Area of Science:

• Cybersecurity Engineering
• Industrial Control Systems Security
• Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) Security

Background:

• Security by design shifts cybersecurity responsibility from end-users to engineers.
• Engineers of industrial control systems (ICSs) and cyber-physical systems (CPSs) often lack specialized security expertise and time.
• Existing security practices place a significant burden on end-users during system operation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel method enabling engineers to autonomously identify, make, and substantiate security-by-design decisions.
• To empower engineers with limited security knowledge to effectively integrate security into the design phase of CPSs/ICSs.
• To facilitate traceable security decision-making for third-party verification.

Main Methods:

• Development of a security-by-design decision-making method.
• Utilization of function-based diagrams and libraries of typical functions with security parameters.
• Implementation as a software demonstrator and validation through a case study with industry partner HIMA.

Main Results:

• Engineers successfully identified and made security decisions they might have otherwise overlooked.
• The method enabled rapid security decision-making with minimal security expertise required.
• The approach effectively transferred security decision-making knowledge to less experienced engineers.

Conclusions:

• The security-by-design decision-making method empowers engineers to proactively integrate security into CPSs and ICSs.
• It significantly reduces the time and expertise needed for effective security engineering.
• The method promotes broader participation in securing systems by design, enhancing overall cybersecurity posture.