CPS-MT: A Real-Time Cyber-Physical System Monitoring Tool for Security Research

Monitoring systems are essential to understand and control the behaviour of systems and networks. Cyber-physical systems (CPS) are particularly delicate under that perspective since they involve real-time constraints and physical phenomena that are not usually considered in common IT solutions. Therefore, there is a need for publicly available monitoring tools able to contemplate these aspects. In this poster/demo, we present our initiative, called CPS-MT, towards a versatile, real-time CPS monitoring tool, with a particular focus on security research. We first present its architecture and main components, followed by a MiniCPS-based case study. We also describe a performance analysis and preliminary results. During the demo, we will discuss CPS-MT's capabilities and limitations for security applications.

I. Introduction

In recent years, cyber-physical systems (CPS) have attracted a lot of research attention due to their intrinsic combination of cyber and physical aspects, in particular on security concerns [1]. One of the main challenges is therefore to rethink security from a new angle where cyber, physical and human aspects are integrated and understood as a whole. In addition, CPS systems are usually time critical and thus, realtime aspects are fundamental. In this work, we focus on industrial control systems (ICS), which are a class of cyber-physical system where cyber entities (e.g. computers, PLCs) monitor and control processes and physical actions. Cyber attacks on these systems may have serious physical consequences such as flooding, blackouts, or even nuclear disasters [1]. Hence, ICS security is vital since its compromise may result in a myriad of severe problems, from service disruptions and economic loss, to jeopardising natural ecosystems and human lives.