Biologically Inspired Safety and Security for Smart Built Environments: Position Paper

Abstract

In the era of emerging Smart Built Environments (SBEs), a smart house, unlike regular houses with static "components", consists of numerous interconnected and often actuated devices, capable of executing tasks independent of user supervision. Living in such a SBE, where for example, the furniture can rearrange itself, and the doors open and close of their own volition, may be difficult and unpredictable. Furthermore, cybersecurity attacks and intrusion could allow attackers to assume control of the SBE, damage its components and to potentially harm its inhabitants. Such novel characteristics of SBEs present developers with several unique challenges with regards to implementing the needed safety and security measures and protocols that go along with them. With such environments, therefore, there is a need for a system that is capable of monitoring user activities in real-time, identifying the safety and security hazards to users in their immediate local context, warning users of these hazards, and perhaps even taking preventative and mitigative action against the hazards that it identified. In this paper, we survey some of these challenges and explore the design and implementation of a system designed around the safety and security of SBE inhabitants. We propose an approach to modeling SBE safety that combines the three laws of robotics and the swarm behavior model. We also present a preliminary prototype and discuss a case study.

Operational Technology on Construction Sites: A Review from the Cybersecurity Perspective

“…Some studies have focused on the OT cybersecurity aspects of the O&M phase due to the building management/ automation systems installed in buildings with complex HVAC, mechanical, and electrical systems. Boyes (2013) addressed cybersecurity risks in intelligent buildings; Pärn and Edwards (2019) and Pärn and García de Soto (2020) pointed out cyber-physical threats confronting critical infrastructure (CI) operations; Gračanin et al (2018) proposed a biologically inspired security system for smart buildings. When the design and construction phases are considered, the literature on cybersecurity in construction has been focusing on IT rather than OT as the advances in information digitization have been more rapid than the digitization of physical operations during construction activities.…”

“…Nawari and Ravindran (2019a), Edwards (2019), andSafa et al (2019) suggest employing blockchain technology for improved change tracking, reliable storage of sensitive data, and data ownership. While providing security for project information (e.g., sensitive pricing data, confidential 3D drawings, and personal data) is of paramount importance (Nawari and Ravindran 2019a;Pärn and Edwards 2019;Safa et al 2019;Grundy 2017;Boyes 2015), considering safety-critical physical outcomes also becomes needed with the proliferating use of CPSs on construction sites and in built environments (Pärn and Edwards 2019;Gračanin et al 2018;Grundy 2017;Boyes 2015). For this reason, Boyes (2015) suggests augmenting the Parkerian Hexad (i.e., confidentiality, integrity, availability, authenticity, possession, and utility) security model with two more facets, safety and resilience, for thoroughly addressing CPS security.…”

“…For this reason, Boyes (2015) suggests augmenting the Parkerian Hexad (i.e., confidentiality, integrity, availability, authenticity, possession, and utility) security model with two more facets, safety and resilience, for thoroughly addressing CPS security. Gračanin et al (2018) and Grundy (2017) focus on cybersecurity aspects of building management systems considering critical building components, such as sensors, actuators, and controllers, utilized during the O&M phase of smart built environments. Pärn and Edwards (2019) specifically emphasizes the need for the identification of bespoke cyber threats and mitigation methods for CIs.…”

Smart Furniture as a Component of a Smart City—Definition Based on Key Technologies Specification

“…As mentioned above, the definition of Smart Furniture is connected with technological, risk and privacy, ethical, and economic issues. In future research, the key functionalities of Smart Furniture need to be outlined to determine the main characteristics of the furniture of the future and which design aspects should be satisfied and addressed (multifunctionality [63], ecology [64], security [65], education [66], health [67], [68], leisure [69], social interactions [70], governance [71], [72], etc. ).…”

Mobile Malware Classification based on Phylogenetics

“…A number of works such as [9][10][11][12] have used bio-inspired concepts to provide cybersecurity solutions. They show the significance of such concepts as the basis for developing new self-resilient algorithm.…”