A Novel Framework for the Design of Resilient Cyber-Physical Systems Using Control Theory and Formal Methods

Abstract

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) intertwine distributed controllers, which control physical processes. As these systems require guarantees on their stability and safety, there is a need for systematic methods for integrated safety and stability analysis of CPSs. To this end, we have developed a novel approach for the design of resilient CPSs that combines formal methods and control theory. Our framework is suitable for CPS with real-time requirements, whose dynamics can be represented as a collection of Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs). Hence, the developed approach suits a large class of CPSs. In addition to developing the framework, we demonstrate the practical applicability through a case study focused on mitigating time-delay attacks on CPS. Specifically, we investigate a two-area LFC system with electric vehicles (EVs) subjected to various types of delay attacks, including constant, variable, random, and cascaded delay attacks.

Keywords

• Cyber-physical system
• time-delay switch attack
• power grid
• load frequency control (LFC)
• stability
• safety