Cybersecurity Solutions for Industrial Internet of Things-Edge Computing Integration: Challenges, Threats, and Future...

Area of Science:

• Cybersecurity
• Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
• Edge Computing
• Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS)

Background:

• The integration of IIoT with edge computing introduces complex cybersecurity challenges for CPS.
• Industrial operations face significant risks from various cyberattacks targeting these interconnected systems.
• Existing security measures often fall short in addressing the unique vulnerabilities of IIoT-edge environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and analyze current cybersecurity challenges and solutions for CPS in IIoT-edge computing.
• To identify prevalent attack vectors, intrusion methods, and critical threats.
• To develop a taxonomy of security mechanisms and compare them with existing research.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review and analysis of relevant research from the past five years.
• Identification and categorization of IIoT layer attacks and cyberattacks targeting CPS.
• Development of a taxonomy for CPS security mechanisms in IIoT-edge computing.

Main Results:

• Prevalent threats include Denial of Service (DoS), ransomware, malware, and Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attacks across the IIoT architecture.
• Vulnerabilities are widespread, impacting industrial operations significantly.
• A comprehensive taxonomy of security mechanisms was developed and compared against existing approaches.

Conclusions:

• Advanced security technologies such as machine learning (ML), federated learning (FL), blockchain, and digital twins are crucial for robust CPS cybersecurity.
• Integrating IT/OT convergence and advanced encryption/cryptography is essential for real-time data protection.
• Future research should focus on advancing cybersecurity in the rapidly evolving IIoT-edge computing domain.