Event-triggered pinning synchronization of stochastic complex networks under hybrid attacks

Area of Science:

• Control Systems Engineering
• Network Security
• Cyber-Physical Systems

Background:

• Complex networks are vulnerable to sophisticated cyber-attacks like Denial-of-Service (DoS) and False Data Injection (FDI).
• Existing control protocols often incur high communication and computational overhead, limiting their practical application.
• Resilient synchronization is crucial for the reliable operation of interconnected systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel pinning event-triggered control protocol for resilient synchronization of complex networks.
• To analyze the protocol's effectiveness under hybrid DoS and FDI attacks with frequency and duration constraints.
• To develop a stochastic version for noisy environments and ensure Zeno-free operation.

Main Methods:

• Integration of pinning control with an event-triggered mechanism.
• Rigorous characterization of DoS attack constraints and quantification of FDI attack effects.
• Development and theoretical analysis of a stochastic protocol version.
• Proof of Zeno-behavior-free event-triggering.

Main Results:

• The proposed protocol achieves global synchronization by actuating only a subset of nodes, reducing overhead.
• Theoretical guarantees ensure synchronization preservation under hybrid attacks and stochastic disturbances.
• Numerical simulations validate the protocol's reliability and efficiency.
• The event-triggering scheme is proven to be free of Zeno behavior.

Conclusions:

• The novel pinning event-triggered control protocol offers a resilient and efficient solution for complex network synchronization.
• The protocol effectively mitigates hybrid cyber-attacks and stochastic noise with reduced resource utilization.
• This work provides a robust framework for securing complex networks against advanced cyber threats.