An assessment of security analysis tools for cyber-physical systems

Abstract

Cyber-Physical Systems are heavily used in today’s world. However, their security leaves much to be desired. Attacks such as the Stuxnet worm and the Ukrainian Grid Hack have shown that compromising these systems can have disastrous consequences. It follows that additional methods for assessing the security of these systems must be explored. To this end, several tools have been developed. In this paper, five existing tools that examine the security of cyber-physical systems are presented. The input models and feedback of these tools are then compared with each other. A real life case study has been modelled in all five tools to achieve this. Two versions of this case study are implemented, one with a DMZ in the network and one without. The five tools are evaluated and their strengths and weaknesses for assessing the security of cyber-physical systems are analysed. Finally, additional methods for the security assessment are touched upon, and we discuss how they can be used together with the tools.