Analysis of the Security of Modern Automated Technological Processes Control Systems: Attack on a SCADA Object

(……) Modern automated technology process control systems and the chances of attacks on them are examined in this article. It studies worm virus, Stuxnet, and its detection at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. It also analyzes ways of carrying out attacks on critically important objects, and provides analytical tools for the security of technological process systems. The ways for discovering nodes compromised by the Stuxnet virus are proposed. The article considers technological network of typical topology and its typical vulnerabilities; it analyzes the Modbus protocol, the routing system, and passwords on Cisco routers.

Demonstration of Modbus Protocol for Robot Communication Using C#

Purpose: The Modbus is the trusted name in the industrial automation communication domain. It is a pretty simple protocol to implement and so very popular to the industrial communication personnel. Nowadays, Some industrial robots are also capable of communicating through Modbus. So our robot researchers frequently face the challenge of communicating with Modbus-enabled devices or robots. They need to know the protocol in detail before integrating it into their project. Its learning curves are a bit higher because of the lack of document which is practical oriented. The protocol selection, packet structure, CRC, or LRC calculation need to maintain precisely as standards; otherwise, the Modbus exception may happen. We experience those scenarios. Through our practical experience, we learned what is required for a new researcher who wants to implement Modbus in their project. In this paper, we demonstrate the Modbus packet structure and implement it with several practical examples. Finally, to test the written code, we provide simple tools which are easy to use and customizable. The researcher can easily integrate into their research project. The complete project source code is available in Github. Design/Methodology/Approach: The Modbus is the standard protocol to communicate between or among the devices. We need a better understanding of it and interface software to test around all aspects. Here we described some practical examples. The GUI is created using C# language inside the Microsoft Visual Studio. The application has several capabilities. In the TCP/IP mode, It can be a server or client. In RTU mode, it can play as a Master or slave device. We can also run two instances in a single system. To communicate between two running apps in RTU mode, we need virtual loopback software, two physical comm port, or two USB to Serial modules. For Modbus TCP mode, we can test within the system using the localhost address (127.0.0.1) or need an IP address for a different. Findings/results: The robot researcher can find helpful information about communicating the robot through the Modbus protocol. The practical example can help them to create packet purser. The functional CRC algorithm code can be used for better understanding and implementation into their project. Originality/Value: This work has some different features than other available utilities. We added features based on our research needs. Our created application is a little bit different from a professional approach. Various display formats are available in our GUI. That makes a difference in the originality of this work. Our GUI can be master, slave, server, or client, which is rarely available. Paper Type: Experimental-based Research.

Detection and Blocking of Replay, False Command, and False Access Injection Commands in SCADA Systems with Modbus Protocol

Industrial control systems (ICS) are being used for surveillance and controlling numerous industrial process plants in national critical infrastructures. Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system is a core component in ICS systems for continuous monitoring and controlling these process plants. Legacy SCADA systems are working in isolated networks and using proprietary communication protocols which made them less exposed to cyber threats. In recent times, these ICS systems have been connected to Internet and corporate networks for data sharing and remote monitoring. They are also using open protocols and operating systems. This leads to vulnerabilities of the system to cyberattacks. Cybersecurity threats are more prevalent than ever in ICS systems. These attacks may be external or internal. Modbus is a widely deployed communication protocol for SCADA communications. There is no security in design of Modbus protocol, and it is vulnerable to numerous cyberattacks. In this paper, we worked for False Command Injection attack, False Access Injection attack, and replay attacks on Modbus protocol. Initially, a real-time SCADA testbed was set up, and we envisaged the impact of these attacks on Modbus protocol data using the testbed. In this work, we used local area network (LAN) environment only for simulating the attacks. We assumed that the attacks penetrated the LAN network. We proposed and developed (a) a method to detect replay attacks by incorporating time stamp and sequence number in Modbus communications and (b) a frame filtering module which will block unauthorized attacks like False Command Injection and False Access Injection attacks to reach programmable logic controller (PLC). Numbers of attacks were simulated and the performance of the method was measured using attack block rate (ABR). It blocked 97% of malicious Modbus transactions or attacks to reach the PLC. It protects SCADA systems from attackers, which is a core component of industrial control systems. The solution enhanced the security of SCADA systems with Modbus protocol.

A Test Cases Generation Method for Industrial Control Protocol Test

The coverage of test cases is an important indicator for the security and robustness test of industrial control protocols. It is an important research topic to complete the test with less use cases. Taking Modbus protocol as an example, a calculation method of case similarity and population dispersion based on weight division is proposed in this paper. The method can describe the similarity of use cases and the dispersion degree of individuals in the population more accurately. Genetic algorithm is used to generate and optimize test cases, and individual similarity and population dispersion are used as fitness functions of genetic algorithm. Experimental results show that the proposed method can increase the population dispersion by 3.45% compared with the conventional methods and effectively improve the coverage of test cases.

IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN CONTROLLING THE TEMPERATURE OF INDUSTRIAL PANEL

Artificial intelligence has been widely used in various applications such as health and safety, smart homes, greenhouses, and industrial application. It has been increasingly utilized in the industry owing to its benefits in terms of enhancing the overall performance of a given system. This study appeared from a real need in many local industries. In this paper, a prototype system has been implemented for artificial control on the temperature of the industrial panel. The paper includes two control systems executed; classical PID (Proportional Integral Derivative) and fuzzy logic with a comparison between them. Fuzzy control algorithm is developing based on Sugeno method inside PLC (Programmable Logic Controller). The connection of PLC with sensors is used by the Modbus protocol. Arduino UNO and Ethernet shield are used to connect the sensor to the router and then to PLC by Modbus.

Experimental Implementation and Performance Evaluation of an IoT Access Gateway for the Modbus Extension

This paper presents the relevant aspects regarding the experimental implementation and performance evaluation of an Internet of things (IoT) gateway for the Modbus extension. The proposed Modbus extension specifications are extended by defining the new optimized message format, and the structure of the acquisition cycle for obtaining a deterministic temporal behavior and solutions are presented for the description of devices at the MODBUS protocol level. Three different implementations are presented, and the Modbus extension’s performance is validated regarding the efficiency in the use of the acquisition cycle time. The software and hardware processing time and the importance and effect of the various components are analyzed and evaluated. They all support the implementation of an Internet of things gateway for Modbus extension. This paper introduces solutions for the structure of the acquisition cycle to include other valuable extensions, discusses the performance of a real implementation in the form of a gateway, adds new features to the Modbus extension specification, and strengthens some of the existing ones. In accordance with the novelty and contribution of this paper to the field of local industrial networks, the results obtained in the analysis, testing, and validation of the Modbus extension protocol refer to the extending of the Modbus functions for industrial process monitoring and control management.

DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTELLIGENT MACHINE FOR SORTING ANIMALS ACCORDING TO SPECIFIED CRITERIA

The Federal scientific Agroengineering center VIM has developed technical tools, algorithms and software for the intelligent automatic control system for milking animals “Stimul” on the “Herringbone” milking unit in three versions. The created system does not include automatic selection gates for effective management of zootechnical and veterinary services of animals. (Research purpose) The research purpose is in developing an intelligent machine for automatic sorting of animals for servicing and managing the herd according to specified characteristics. (Materials and methods) The article presents the development of control and management systems in dairy farming based on the conceptual principles of digital transformation. The digital control system is based on a multifunctional panel controller. The created control unit has a port for connecting to the RS 485 network and provides support for network functions via the Modbus Protocol. The programming of the control unit has been made in the SMLogix tool environment, which supports the FBD function block language. (Results and discussion) The article presents an intelligent machine for automatic sorting of animal flows for servicing and managing the herd according to specified characteristics with the unification of hardware, software modules and interface. The article describes the necessary parameters for the automatic remote animal identification system, the basic component of the control system of an intelligent machine for sorting animals according to specified characteristics. (Conclusions) The machine allows to automatically identify, sort and send animals to the specified areas for individual service.