Organization of Secure Communication between Programmable Logic Controllers Using the Open Platform Communications Protocol

Modern automated control systems in industrial and private enterprises are represented by a set of programmable logic devices and components from various manufacturers. They operate based on many of the most widely used protocols and interfaces. Some manufacturers have their own solutions that are mainly focused only on their product, without direct or indirect compatibility with third-party solutions. Many control systems used now operate on relatively old solutions that cannot be partially modernized due to lack of technical resources or financial unprofitability. The paper considers the most popular industrial protocols Modbus and Profibus, analyzes their advantages, as well as features of the structure and functionality. The study of the operation problems and information security of modern control systems is considered, solutions for their elimination are analyzed. A solution for the control systems modernization was proposed based on the analysis. It can become effective and financially justified due to its technical features, allowing it to be adapted to existing solutions. Conclusions about the effectiveness of the proposed solution were formulated based on the data collected and the goals achieved.

A Configurable RO-PUF for Securing Embedded Systems Implemented on Programmable Devices

Improving the security of electronic devices that support innovative critical services (digital administrative services, e-health, e-shopping, and on-line banking) is essential to lay the foundations of a secure digital society. Security schemes based on Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) take advantage of intrinsic characteristics of the hardware for the online generation of unique digital identifiers and cryptographic keys that allow to ensure the protection of the devices against counterfeiting and to preserve data privacy. This paper tackles the design of a configurable Ring Oscillator (RO) PUF that encompasses several strategies to provide an efficient solution in terms of area, timing response, and performance. RO-PUF implementation on programmable logic devices is conceived to minimize the use of available resources, while operating speed can be optimized by properly selecting the size of the elements used to obtain the PUF response. The work also describes the interface added to the PUF to facilitate its incorporation as hardware Intellectual Property (IP)-modules into embedded systems. The performance of the RO-PUF is proven with an extensive battery of tests, which are executed to analyze the influence of different test strategies on the PUF quality indexes. The configurability of the proposed RO-PUF allows establishing the most suitable “cost/performance/security-level” trade-off for a certain application.

Dealing with the Obsolescence of Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs) in Electronic Products

PLDs are commonplace in today's electronic products. When such devices reach their end-of-life, the product manufacturer must find a viable solution, both technical and economical. Replacing a PLD by an ASIC is a viable alternative that is explored in this paper, using a real case as an example. Boundary business conditions for deciding for this option are presented. Depending on these conditions, obsolescence can be seen as an opportunity for the improvement of the product, taking advantage of other benefits that an ASIC brings. As an ASIC development can be seen as risky, pricy, and as having a long time to market, a structured ASIC platform, called ICX, that mitigates all of these three aspects, is also presented.