A New Method for Writing Assurance Cases

Two existing notations for the assurance case (claim, argument and evidence [CAE] and goal structuring notation [GSN]) are considered. Supporting software tools for development of the assurance case are considered. Some ways for improvement and modification are proposed for both assurance case notations (CAE and GSN). For CAE, the authors obtained annex with acceptance and coverage criteria as well as an algorithm of the assurance case update through life cycle stages. For GSN, they improve structured argumentation with support of structured text using. Recommendations for using the assurance case notations and tools for I&C systems are formulated.

Context. Development of safety assurance cases (SACs) is a trending need for certification of safety-critical systems in regulated domains. Their development encompasses collecting, linking, and structuring diverse project information, such as requirements, hazards, and components. A key building block of SACs is the explanation behind requirements and design decisions, the so-called assurance rationale, which provides compelling argumentation on the system suitability for use. Late development of SACs leads to late discovery of hazards, risks, requirement and design issues that affect the system safety. Question/ problem. Current practice is to manage the assurance rationale in the SAC tools or artefacts, even though it is closely related to project and traceability information. This separation inhibits the shared understanding between safety and software professionals and may cause loss of rationale that results in a poor quality of certification documentation. It also hinders the automated SAC construction and assessment directly from project management tools. Principal ideas/results. This paper presents an approach to support the management of assurance rationale integrated with project information. Our approach defines an assurance rationale model that binds requirements, safety analysis information and assurance case elements. We show the use of the model applied to an issue tracking system. Contribution. We propose a new perspective on assurance cases management by bringing their building blocks into project management tools. Such integration could help bridge Safety and Software Engineering activities and avoid loss of rationale through the system life cycle. Also, it fosters the development of new approaches for SAC generation and assessment.

Arguing Security of Generic Avionic Mission Control Computer System (MCC) using Assurance Cases

The constant failure in cyber security in power systems and substation automation that has crippled business activities that mostly depend on power to run their routine activities are caused by Lack of Adequate Security Measures, Human Error, Outdated Software and Hardware, Insufficient Training and Awareness, Insider Threats, Weak Access Control Mechanisms, Inadequate Network Segmentation, Failure to Patch Vulnerabilities, Complexity of the System, Third-Party Vendor Risks and Denial of Service (DoS) Vulnerabilities. This is surmounted by introducing improved cyber security in power systems and substation automation using intelligent based system. To achieve this, it is done in this procedure characterizing and establishing the causes of failure in cyber security in power systems and substation automation, designing a SIMULINK model for cyber security in power systems and substation automation, designing a rule base that will reduce the causes of failure in cyber security in power systems and substation automation,training ANN in the rule base for effective reduction of causes of failure in cyber security in power systems and substation automation, developing an algorithm for the process, designing a SIMULINK model for improving cyber security in power systems and substation automation using intelligent based system and validating and justifying the percentage of improvement in the reduction of causes of failure in cyber security in power systems and substation automation. The results obtained were the conventional Lack of Adequate Security Measures that cause failure in improving cyber security in power systems and substation automation was 25%. On the other hand, when an intelligent based system was incorporated into the system, it drastically reduce the cause failure in improving cyber security in power systems and substation automation to 21.53%, the conventional outdated software and hardware that cause failure in improving cyber security in power systems and substation automation was 15%. Meanwhile, when an intelligent based system was inculcated in the system, it became reduced to 12.92% thereby enhancing the performance of cyber security in power systems and substation automation by 2.08%, the conventional Weak Access Control Mechanisms that cause failure in improving cyber security in power systems and substation automation was 8%. However, when an intelligent based system was integrated in the system, it was reduced to 6.9% and the conventional Denial of Service (DoS) Vulnerabilities that cause failure in improving cyber security in power systems and substation automation was 2% while when an intelligent based system was incorporated in the system, it automatically reduced to 1.7%. Finally, with these results obtained, It vehemently shows that the percentage improvement in cyber security in power systems and substation automation was 0.3%.

System safety and cyber security have a great effect on system reliability which is the foundation of keeping system running-normally. Although safety and security controls can reinforce each other mutually, contradictions between them also exist, such as resource competition that may cause serious damage. This paper puts forward a risk-based task scheduling approach for the integrated control of system safety and cyber security in industrial control systems (ICSs). In this approach, an integrated task model covering both safety task and security task is proposed, which describes the relationship between task and risk in detail. And the change of real-time risk during the enforcement of these tasks is analysed. These tasks are scheduled through an optimal scheduling scheme which means the risk decrease as soon as possible and is always acceptable based on genetic algorithm. Further, simulation results show that the proposed approach is effective for task scheduling and real-time risk control.

Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is anticipated to revolutionize transport by integrating conventional public transport with on-demand and shared services. This innovation promises enhanced convenience, flexibility, and sustainability in urban mobility, drawing interest from both researchers and industry. However, those systems heavily rely on the collection and sharing of personal data among various stakeholders, introducing security and privacy risks. To understand the scale and scope of cyber security and privacy concerns and risks associated with MaaS, we conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) covering 87 relevant research papers published between 2017 and April 2025. Our review represents the most comprehensive examination focusing on cyber security and privacy issues of MaaS systems. Our findings reveal three themes discussed within the MaaS literature: (i) cyber security and privacy risks inherent to MaaS systems, alongside proposed solutions to mitigate such risks; (ii) users’ concerns about these risks and how they affect MaaS adoption; and (iii) laws and policies that govern cyber security and privacy aspects of MaaS systems and solutions. As such, our research serves to not only inform MaaS service providers and users but also advise policymakers and legislators on the potential risks involved and the regulatory measures required to address them.

Industry 5.0 is already gradually beginning to manifest itself in various aspects of our lives. It is especially sensitive for ensuring socio-economic development. At the same time, cyber threats are increasing, which have a negative impact on ensuring economic security. That is why there is an urgent need to protect information in wartime conditions. The main goal of the article is to determine ways to ensure the cyber security of the socio-economic system under martial law. The object of the study is the cyber security system. As a result of the study, the author's model was presented for enabling the provision of a high level of cyber security in wartime conditions. For this, a modern method of modelling structural systems was applied. The practical and scientific significance of the obtained research results can be presented in the form of an information model for ensuring the cyber security of the socio-economic system under martial law. Innovative elements of the obtained results are the presented processes of cybersecurity, which allows to detail the key ideas of modelling. The research has limitations in the form of taking into account only the features of ensuring cyber security of the socio-economic system in the conditions of the military state of one country.

To maintain the cyber security, nuclear digital Instrumentation and Control (I&C) systems must be analyzed for security risks because a single security breach due to a cyber attack can cause system failure, which can have catastrophic consequences on the environment and staff of a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). Attack trees have been widely used to analyze the cyber security of digital systems due to their ability to capture system specific as well as attacker specific details. Therefore, a methodology based on attack trees has been proposed to analyze the cyber security of the systems. The methodology has been applied for the Cyber Security Analysis (CSA) of a Bistable Processor (BP) of a Reactor Protection System (RPS). Threats have been described according to their source. Attack scenarios have been generated using the attack tree and possible counter measures according to the Security Risk Level (SRL) of each scenario have been suggested. Moreover, cyber Security Requirements (SRs) have been elicited, and suitability of the requirements has been checked.

The advent of quantum computing poses significant threats to traditional cybersecurity systems, which rely on cryptographic algorithms vulnerable to quantum attacks. This research explores the utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) in designing a prototype cybersecurity system aimed at countering the emerging threats of quantum computing. The study integrates AI-based intrusion detection systems with quantum-resistant cryptographic techniques to enhance the security of digital systems against quantum-driven cyberattacks. A combination of machine learning algorithms, such as neural networks and decision trees, is employed to detect and mitigate potential cybersecurity breaches. Additionally, post-quantum cryptography (PQC) is incorporated to safeguard sensitive data against the capabilities of quantum computers. The results indicate that the proposed system outperforms conventional cybersecurity methods in detecting threats with greater speed and accuracy, while also providing robust protection against quantum-enabled attacks. Moreover, the integration of AI allows for adaptive and proactive defense mechanisms, improving the overall system resilience. The study concludes that combining AI with post-quantum cryptography offers a promising solution to secure digital infrastructures in the face of quantum computing advancements, marking a significant step toward future-proofing cybersecurity strategies.

In order to ensure the reliable execution of the functional safety of industrial control systems and effectively resist more and more serious cyber attacks, it is necessary to explore a technical solution suitable for industrial control systems to effectively ensure the compatibility of cyber security and functional security measures. Taking typical SIL3 and SL3 industrial control systems as examples, based on functional safety measures, cyber security measures are analyzed one by one, and potential contradictions between them are identified. Coordination solutions of functional safety and cyber security are given by combining event tree and risk analysis. Finally, integrated protective measures of functional safety and cyber security of industrial control systems are obtained.The results show that the cyber security measures determined by the coordination method are compatible with the original functional safety measures, and the coordination method can be used to guide the cyber security design of industrial control systems.

Developing security systems to protect the storage systems are needed. The main objective of this paper is to study the security of file storage server of an organization. Different kinds of security threats and a number of security techniques used to protect information will be examined. Thus, in this paper, an assessment plan for evaluating cyber security of local storage systems in organizations is proposed. The assessment model is based on the idea of cyber security domains and risk matrix. The proposed assessment model has been implemented on two prestigious and important organizations in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Storage systems of the assessed organizations found to have cyber security risks of different scales. This conclusion gives certainty to the fact that organizations are not capable of following the cyber security evolution and secure their storage systems from cyber security vulnerabilities and breaches. Organizations with local storage systems can improve the cyber security of their storage systems by applying certain techniques.

As an important barrier to prevent adversaries from destroying nuclear facilities or transferring nuclear materials, the cyber security of physical protection systems in nuclear power plants are receiving increasing attention under the current digital, networked and intelligent development trend in the world. In this paper, the authors analyze the cyber security risks faced by the physical protection systems and countermeasures, propose the idea of building an cyber security test platform for physical protection systems based on digital twin technology, and explore relevant key technologies, which provides a new perspective for the cyber security protection of physical protection systems in nuclear power plants around the world.

A technique to include computer security, safety, and resilience requirements as part of the requirements specification

In this invited talk, we argue that designing cyber security of critical infrastructure requires a spilt-personality approach to design as opposed to design for correctness or for performance. Designing a functionally correct system, or a performance constrained system is fundamentally different in the sense that such design requires us to build models and to systematically refine models towards implementation such that correctness is preserved between refinements, and performance optimizations are introduced during refinements. Designing systems with cyber-security properties requires us to not only build models from theoretical principles, but also require modeling possible behaviors of an adversary. Modeling adversarial behavior is akin to test-driven model refinement, and hence not so different from certain approaches used when our goal is functionally correct design. However, for cyber-physical systems, we often need to detect an ongoing cyber attack since safe guards for cyber security often depend on assumptions which can be invalidated (e.g., insider attacks may invalidate perimeter security assumptions). Detecting ongoing attacks requires detecting behavioral anomalies in the physical system under cyber control – thus requiring us to build models from data. Machine learning approaches could be used to build such models. This we view as a schizoid approach – since the designer has to not only model the system from physical principles, he/she also has to build nominal behavioral models from data. While arguing this point of view, we introduce a virtual SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) laboratory we have built to help design cyber security of critical systems. The majority of this talk focuses on describing this software based virtual laboratory called VSCADA. Most of this research is published in [8,11] and summarized here for the sake of exposition to the present audience.KeywordsCritical InfrastructureHuman Machine InterfaceSchedule AgentModel Drive EngineeringEnergy Society GeneralThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

IT security for Industrial control systems or the Industrial Internet of Things is an emerging topic in research and development as well as for operators of real production facilities. In this paper, we will present the Fraunhofer IOSB IT Security Laboratory for industrial control systems, that enables security research, development and testing of products and training of IT security personnel. Due to its architecture based on both real hardware components and a flexible virtual environment, the IT Security Lab offers a realistic setup of today’s production facilities and at the same time a high flexibility with regard to future networking technologies and protocols.