Generating situation awareness in cyber-physical systems

Abstract

Cyber-physical systems depend on good situation awareness in order to cope with the changes of the physical world and in the configuration of the system to fulfill their goal functions. Being aware of the situation in the physical world enables a cyberphysical system to adapt its behaviour according to the actual state of the world as perceived by the cyber-physical system. Understanding the situation of the cyber-physical system itself enables adaptation of the behaviour of the system according to the current capabilities and state of the system, e.g., providing less features or features with limited functionality in case some of the system components are not functional. In order to build resilient cyber-physical systems we need to build systems that are able to consider both of these aspects in their operation.

A review: Monitoring situational awareness of smart grid cyber‐physical systems and critical asset identification

“…� Situational Awareness can be described as the perception of the current state and its consequences for the present and the future [32]. In terms of CPS cybersecurity, SA is used to capture and understand the threat information of both IT and OT infrastructures, identify a comprehensive, real-time view of cyber threats on key components and gain knowledge on potential actions an adversary can take to target assets [33]. SA can be vital to propose the best remediation plan to avoid possible cybersecurity consequences that can occur in such systems.…”

“…Moreover, based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology Framework for CPSs [31], the SG is considered one of the many implementations of a CPS due to its heterogeneity environment and the need to determine positive emergent behaviours. Situational Awareness can be described as the perception of the current state and its consequences for the present and the future [32]. In terms of CPS cybersecurity, SA is used to capture and understand the threat information of both IT and OT infrastructures, identify a comprehensive, real‐time view of cyber threats on key components and gain knowledge on potential actions an adversary can take to target assets [33]. SA can be vital to propose the best remediation plan to avoid possible cybersecurity consequences that can occur in such systems. Operational Technology can be characterised as all resources used to monitor any physical process.…”