Which attacks lead to hazards? Combining safety and security analysis for cyber-physical systems
File(s)main.pdf (1.33 MB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Castiglione, Luca
Lupu, Emil C
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) are exposed to a plethora of attacks and their attack surface is only increasing. However, whilst many attack paths are possible, only some can threaten the system's safety and potentially lead to loss of life. Identifying them is of essence. We propose a methodology and develop a tool-chain to systematically analyse and enumerate the attacks leading to safety violations. This is achieved by lazily combining threat modelling and safety analysis with formal verification and with attack graph analysis. We also identify the minimum sets of privileges that must be protected to preserve safety. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our methodology to discover threat scenarios by applying it to a Communication Based Train Control System. Our design choices emphasise compatibility with existing safety and security frameworks, whilst remaining agnostic to specific tools or attack graphs representations.
Date Issued
2024-07-01
Date Acceptance
2023-07-25
Citation
IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing, 2024, 21 (4), pp.2526-2540
ISSN
1545-5971
Publisher
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Start Page
2526
End Page
2540
Journal / Book Title
IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing
Volume
21
Issue
4
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2023 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2023-08-29