INFORMATION SECURITY FOR RECONFIGURABLE MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS USING NETWORKED EMBEDDED CONTROLLERS

Networked embedded controllers are gaining ground in industry as a technology facilitator for rapidly reconfigurable manufacturing systems. These information-intensive manufacturing systems are adopting open standards in order to foster interoperability and facilitate integration of complex, multi-vendor systems. However, the dependence of the system on data exchange and the openness of interfaces raise information security concerns. This paper analyses security vulnerabilities and threats in distributed control systems, and proposes security protocols to mitigate the threats. The feasibility of employing the proposed protocols was validated through experimental implementations and measurements, showing that the overhead introduced by cryptographic algorithms is comparable to other typical functions of embedded controllers.