Abstract
Cyber Physical Systems (CPSs) are systems that are developed by seamlessly integrating computational algorithms and physical components, and they are a result of the technological advancement in the embedded systems and distributed systems domains, as well as the availability of sophisticated networking technology. Many industrial CPSs are subject to timing predictability, security and functional safety requirements, due to which the developers of these systems are required to verify these requirements during the their development. This position paper starts by exploring the state of the art with respect to developing timing predictable and secure embedded systems. Thereafter, the paper extends the discussion to time-critical and secure CPSs and highlights the key issues that are faced when verifying the timing predictability requirements during the development of these systems. In this context, the paper takes the position to advocate paramount importance of security as a prerequisite for timing predictability, as well as both security and timing predictability as prerequisites for functional safety. Moreover, the paper identifies the gaps in the existing frameworks and techniques for the development of time- and safety-critical CPSs and describes our viewpoint on ensuring timing predictability and security in these systems. Finally, the paper emphasises the opportunities that artificial intelligence can provide in the development of these systems.
Highlights
There exist several definitions of Cyber-physical systems (CPSs) in the literature
Even if a time-critical CPS is proven to be timing predictable at the design time, the predictability of the system can be jeopardised at runtime due to security threats to the time-critical data entering the system, e.g., from sensors, networks or other CPSs
To identify the key issues involved in the development of these systems, in this position paper, we first draw a parallel between embedded systems and CPSs
Summary
There exist several definitions of Cyber-physical systems (CPSs) in the literature. For example, according to the International Conference on CPSs (ICPPS) (http://iccps.acm.org), CPSs are defined as the “physical and engineered systems whose operations are monitored, coordinated, controlled, and integrated by computing and communication. The sensors, actuators and physical processes that are sensed and controlled, respectively, are not considered to be parts of the embedded system Industrial environment of safety-critical CPSs often brings tighter timing requirements together with an assumed infrastructure that provides connectivity and can play a role of fog nodes. One of the main security objectives in embedded systems is to consider data integrity and authenticity, as it is crucial to have enough confidence that the data received from the sensors represents the physical process correctly. We focus only on the two security objectives mentioned above as being most common for the time- and safety-critical CPSs; depending on the particular use-case, the relevant security objectives for industrial CPSs can include confidentiality, anonymity, availability, auditability, non-repudiability, third-party protection and conformance [15]
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