The Experts below are selected from a list of 321 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Kam-pui Chow - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Detecting Anomalies in Programmable Logic Controllers Using Unsupervised Machine Learning
2019Co-Authors: Chun-fai Chan, Kam-pui Chow, Raymond ChanAbstract:Supervisory control and data acquisition systems have been employed for decades to communicate with and coordinate industrial processes. These systems incorporate numerous Programmable Logic controllers that manage the operations of industrial equipment based on sensor information. Due to the important roles that Programmable Logic controllers play in industrial facilities, these microprocessor-based systems are exposed to serious cyber threats.This chapter describes an innovative methodology that leverages unsupervised machine learning to monitor the states of Programmable Logic controllers to uncover latent defects and anomalies. The methodology, which employs a one-class support vector machine, is able to detect anomalies without being bound to specific scenarios or requiring detailed knowledge about the control Logic. A case study involving a traffic light simulation demonstrates that anomalies are detected with high accuracy, enabling the prompt mitigation of the underlying problems.
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A Forensic Logging System for Siemens Programmable Logic Controllers
2018Co-Authors: Ken Yau, Kam-pui Chow, Siu-ming YiuAbstract:Critical infrastructure assets are monitored and managed by industrial control systems. In recent years, these systems have evolved to adopt common networking standards that expose them to cyber attacks. Since Programmable Logic controllers are core components of industrial control systems, forensic examinations of these devices are vital during responses to security incidents. However, Programmable Logic controller forensics is a challenging task because of the lack of effective logging systems.This chapter describes the design and implementation of a novel Programmable Logic controller logging system. Several tools are available for generating Programmable Logic controller audit logs; these tools monitor and record the values of Programmable Logic controller memory variables for diagnostic purposes. However, the logged information is inadequate for forensic investigations. To address this limitation, the logging system extracts data from Siemens S7 communications protocol traffic for forensic purposes. The extracted data is saved in an audit log file in an easy-to-read format that enables a forensic investigator to efficiently examine the activity of a Programmable Logic controller.
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Enhancing the Security and Forensic Capabilities of Programmable Logic Controllers
2018Co-Authors: Chun-fai Chan, Kam-pui ChowAbstract:Industrial control systems are used to monitor and operate critical infrastructures. For decades, the security of industrial control systems was preserved by their use of proprietary hardware and software, and their physical separation from other networks. However, to reduce costs and enhance interconnectivity, modern industrial control systems increasingly use commodity hardware and software, and are connected to vendor and corporate networks, and even the Internet. These trends expose industrial control systems to risks that they were not designed to handle.This chapter describes a novel approach for enhancing industrial control system security and forensics by adding monitoring and logging mechanisms to Programmable Logic controllers, key components of industrial control systems. A proof-of-concept implementation is presented using a popular Siemens Programmable Logic controller. Experiments were conducted to compare the accuracy and performance impact of the proposed method versus the conventional Programmable Logic controller polling method. The experimental results demonstrate that the new method yields increased anomaly detection coverage and accuracy with only a small performance impact. Additionally, the new method increases the speed of anomaly detection and reduces network overhead, enabling forensic investigations of Programmable Logic controllers to be conducted more efficiently and effectively.
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IFIP Int. Conf. Digital Forensics - Detecting Anomalous Programmable Logic Controller Events Using Machine Learning
Advances in Digital Forensics XIII, 2017Co-Authors: Kam-pui ChowAbstract:Industrial control system failures can be hazardous to human lives and the environment. Programmable Logic controllers are major components of industrial control systems that are used across the critical infrastructure. Attack and accident investigations involving Programmable Logic controllers rely on forensic techniques to establish the root causes and to develop mitigation strategies. However, Programmable Logic controller forensics is a challenging task, primarily because of the lack of system logging. This chapter proposes a novel methodology that logs the values of relevant memory addresses used by a Programmable Logic controller program along with their timestamps. Machine learning techniques are applied to the logged data to identify anomalous or abnormal Programmable Logic controller operations. An application of the methodology to a simulated traffic light control system demonstrates its effectiveness in performing forensic investigations of Programmable Logic controllers.
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Detecting Anomalous Programmable Logic Controller Events Using Machine Learning
2017Co-Authors: Ken Yau, Kam-pui ChowAbstract:Industrial control system failures can be hazardous to human lives and the environment. Programmable Logic controllers are major components of industrial control systems that are used across the critical infrastructure. Attack and accident investigations involving Programmable Logic controllers rely on forensic techniques to establish the root causes and to develop mitigation strategies. However, Programmable Logic controller forensics is a challenging task, primarily because of the lack of system logging. This chapter proposes a novel methodology that logs the values of relevant memory addresses used by a Programmable Logic controller program along with their timestamps. Machine learning techniques are applied to the logged data to identify anomalous or abnormal Programmable Logic controller operations. An application of the methodology to a simulated traffic light control system demonstrates its effectiveness in performing forensic investigations of Programmable Logic controllers.
Stephen Philip Tubbs - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) Tutorial, Siemens Simatic S7-1200
2016Co-Authors: Stephen Philip TubbsAbstract:This book teaches and demonstrates the basics of the Siemens S7-1200 family of Programmable Logic controllers. Information is provided to help the reader get and operate an inexpensive CPU 1212C Programmable Logic controller, associated hardware, and STEP 7 Basic software. Examples with circuit diagrams are provided to demonstrate CPU 1212C ladder Logic program capabilities. Information is also provided to relate the CPU 1212C to other Programmable Logic controllers. The person completing the examples will be able to write useful ladder Logic programs for the entire S7-1200 family of Programmable Logic controllers.
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Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) Tutorial, Siemens Simatic S7-1200
2016Co-Authors: Stephen Philip TubbsAbstract:This book teaches and demonstrates the basics of the Siemens S7-1200 family of Programmable Logic controllers. Information is provided to help the reader get and operate an inexpensive CPU 1212C Programmable Logic controller, associated hardware, and STEP 7 Basic software. Examples with circuit diagrams are provided to demonstrate CPU 1212C ladder Logic program capabilities. Information is also provided to relate the CPU 1212C to other Programmable Logic controllers. The person completing the examples will be able to write useful ladder Logic programs for the entire S7-1200 family of Programmable Logic controllers.
Eduard Paul Enoiu - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Programming languages popularity and implications to testing Programmable Logic controllers
PeerJ, 2015Co-Authors: Eduard Paul EnoiuAbstract:The popularity of domain-specific programming languages has implications on how we test software in these domain industries. For example for Programmable Logic controllers five standard languages were defined and used in practice. Detailed data on popularity of these languages should show some implications on what languages to target when testing. We suggest that massive new data sources resulting from programmers may offer a new perspective on how we test domain-specific languages. By analyzing Google query volumes for search terms related to Programmable Logic controllers languages, we find patterns that may be interpreted as signs of actual usage in practice. Comparing with the current testing approaches proposed by researchers our results illustrate both potentials and threats on what is needed in reality when testing Programmable Logic controllers.
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Programming languages popularity and implications to testing Programmable Logic controllers
2015Co-Authors: Eduard Paul EnoiuAbstract:The popularity of domain-specific programming languages has implications on how we test software in these domain industries. For example for Programmable Logic controllers five standard languages were defined and used in practice. Detailed data on popularity of these languages should show some implications on what languages to target when testing. We suggest that massive new data sources resulting from programmers may offer a new perspective on how we test domain-specific languages. By analyzing Google query volumes for search terms related to Programmable Logic controllers languages, we find patterns that may be interpreted as signs of actual usage in practice. Comparing with the current test generation approaches proposed by researchers our results illustrate both potentials and threats on what is needed in reality when testing Programmable Logic controllers.
Steven J. E. Wilton - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Design considerations for soft embedded Programmable Logic cores
IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, 2005Co-Authors: Steven J. E. Wilton, Noha Kafafi, Kimberly Bozman, V.o. Aken'ova, Resve SalehAbstract:As integrated circuits become increasingly more complex and expensive, the ability to make post-fabrication changes will become much more attractive. This ability can be realized using Programmable Logic cores. Currently, such cores are available from vendors in the form of "hard" rectangular layouts. We focus on an alternative approach for fine-grain programmability: vendors supply a synthesized RTL version of their Programmable Logic core (a "soft" core) and the integrated circuit designer synthesizes the Programmable Logic fabric using standard cells. Although this technique suffers in terms of speed, density, and power overhead, the task of integrating such cores is far easier than the task of integrating "hard" cores into an ASIC or SoC. When the required amount of Programmable Logic is small, this ease of use may be more important than the increased overhead. This paper presents two synthesized "soft" Programmable Logic core architectures and describes their associated place and route issues. We compare the two architectures to each other, and to a "hard" Programmable Logic core. We also show how these cores can be made more efficient by creating a nonrectangular architecture, an option not usually available to "hard" core vendors. Finally, a proof-of-concept integrated circuit containing one of these cores is described.
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product term based synthesizable embedded Programmable Logic cores
Field-Programmable Technology, 2003Co-Authors: Steven J. E. WiltonAbstract:As integrated circuits become increasingly complex, the ability to make post-fabrication changes will become more important and attractive. This ability can be realized using Programmable Logic cores. Currently, such cores are available from vendors in the form of a "hard" layout. Previous work has suggested an alternative approach: vendors supply a synthesizable version of their Programmable Logic core and the integrated circuit designer synthesizes the Programmable Logic fabric using standard cells. This paper presents a new family of architectures for these synthesizable cores; unlike previous architectures which were based on lookup-tables, the new family of architectures is based on a collection of product-term arrays. Compared to lookup-table based architectures, the new architectures result in density improvements of 35% and speed improvements of 72% on standard benchmark circuits.
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FPGA - Architectures and algorithms for synthesizable embedded Programmable Logic cores
Proceedings of the 2003 ACM SIGDA eleventh international symposium on Field programmable gate arrays - FPGA '03, 2003Co-Authors: Noha Kafafi, Kimberly Bozman, Steven J. E. WiltonAbstract:As integrated circuits become more and more complex, the ability to make post-fabrication changes will become more and more attractive. This ability can be realized using Programmable Logic cores. Currently, such cores are available from vendors in the form of a "hard" layout. In this paper, we focus on an alternative approach: vendors supply a synthesizable version of their Programmable Logic core (a "soft" core) and the integrated circuit designer synthesizes the Programmable Logic fabric using standard cells. Although this technique suffers increased speed, density, and power overhead, the task of integrating such cores is far easier than the task of integrating "hard" cores into an ASIC. For very small amounts of Logic, this ease of use may be more important than the increased overhead. This paper presents two synthesizable Programmable Logic core architectures, describes the associated place and route CAD tools, and compares the two architectures to each other, and to a "hard" Programmable Logic core. It also shows how these cores can be made more efficient by creating a non-rectangular architecture, an option not available to "hard" core vendors.
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Programmable Logic IP cores in SoC design: opportunities and challenges
Proceedings of the IEEE 2001 Custom Integrated Circuits Conference (Cat. No.01CH37169), 1Co-Authors: Steven J. E. Wilton, Resve SalehAbstract:As SoC design enters into mainstream usage, the ability to make post-fabrication changes will become more and more attractive. This ability can be realized using Programmable Logic cores. These cores are like any other IP in the SoC design methodology, except that their function can be changed after fabrication. This paper outlines ways in which Programmable Logic cores can simplify SoC design, and describes some of the challenges that must be overcome if the use of Programmable Logic cores is to become a mainstream design technique.
Vassil Roussev - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Programmable Logic controller forensics
IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, 2017Co-Authors: Irfan Ahmed, Sneha Sudhakaran, S. Obermeier, Vassil RoussevAbstract:Programmable Logic controllers (PLCs) automate the control and monitoring of physical industrial and infrastructure processes such as power generation, gas pipelines, and water management. Due to the convergence of networking infrastructure, PLCs can be exposed to cyberattacks over the network with potentially catastrophic consequences. This contribution introduces the basic mechanisms by which various attacks can be detected, analyzed, and, ultimately, remedied.
