An engineering approach for secure and safe wireless sensor and actuator networks for industrial automation systems

Abstract

Wireless communication and smart sensors and actuators pose means to sustainably improve automation technology. Unfortunately they also cause an abundance of new challenges regarding security and safety of the system. After introducing the security concepts, this paper discusses an engineering methodology to cope with security requirements in context of industrial automation. Two practical examples demonstrate how the solutions even for pretty similar scenarios can differ significantly. The proposed development flow promises a reliable objective engineering of proper system solutions. Key concepts of the flow are a holistic goal description and an iterative composition algorithm that inherently applies and extends existing knowledge. ©2009 IEEE.