Foundations for Research in Cyber-Physical System Cyber Resilience using State Estimation

Abstract

Cyber-physical systems (CPS) maintain operation, reliability, and safety performance using state estimation and control methods. Internet connectivity and Internet of Things (IoT) devices are being integrated with CPS, such as in smart grids. This integration of Operational Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT) brings with it challenges for state estimation and cyber-threat exposure. This research establishes a state estimation baseline, details the integration of IT, evaluates the vulnerabilities, and develops an approach for detecting and responding to cyber-attack data injections. Where other approaches focus on integration of IT cyber-controls, this research focuses on development of a classification tool using data currently available in state estimation methods to quantitatively determine the presence of cyber-attack data. The tools may increase computational requirements but provide methods which can be integrated with existing state estimation methods. The updated cyber resilient state estimation process provides for future research in state estimation based cyber-attack incident response.