On the use of MiniCPS for conducting rigorous security experiments in Software-Defined Industrial Control Systems

Abstract

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) offers a global view over the network and the ability of centrally and dynamically managing network flows, making them ideal for creating security threat detection and mitigation solutions. Industrial networks possess specific characteristics that make them well-suited for such solutions, leading to extensive research efforts in this area. However, due to the high economic cost and potential risks associated with real equipment interaction, most studies rely on testbeds for demonstration purposes. Therefore, it becomes crucial to understand the limitations and safe operating ranges of testbed environments to ensure the development of scientifically rigorous experiments and accurate result measurements. This study focuses on analyzing MiniCPS-based testbeds in terms of network performance, experiment replicability, and the effects of different attacker implementation modes. The findings demonstrate that utilizing MiniCPS on actual hardware enables the development of highly replicable and high-performance testbeds, as long as they operate within the predefined safe operating ranges. Additionally, this work provides an in-depth analysis of various attacker implementation techniques and their impact on the network.