Design Guidelines and a Prototype Implementation for Cyber-Resiliency in IT/OT Scenarios Based on Blockchain and Edge Computing

【Author】 Balistri, Eugenio; Casellato, Francesco; Collura, Salvatore; Giannelli, Carlo; Riberto, Giulio; Stefanelli, Cesare

【Source】IEEE INTERNET OF THINGS JOURNAL

【影响因子】10.238

【Abstract】The advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) and its spread in industrial environments has changed production lines by dramatically fostering the dynamicity of data sharing and the connectivity of machines. However, such increased flexibility (also pushed by the adoption of edge devices) must not negatively affect the security and safety of industrial environments. The proposed solution adopts the blockchain to securely store in distributed ledgers topology information and access rules, maximizing the cyber resiliency of industrial networks. Topology information and access rules are stored and queried in a completely distributed manner, ensuring data availability even in case a centralized controller is temporarily down or the network partitioned. Moreover, blockchain consensus algorithms foster a participative validation of topology information, to ensure the identity of interacting machines/nodes, to securely distribute topology information and commands in a privacy-preserving manner, and to trace any past modification in a nonrepudiable manner. Finally, the adoption of configurable edge gateways allows to take prompt countermeasures in case potential threats are identified, by activating access rules stored in ledgers in a secure and distributed manner. In addition to solution design guidelines and architectural considerations, the article also presents performance results achieved with our CyberChain working prototype, with the goal of not only demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed solution but also its suitability in industrial environments.

【Keywords】Security; Topology; Blockchains; Network topology; Logic gates; Standards; Monitoring; Blockchain; cyber resiliency; edge computing; hyperledger fabric; Industrial Internet of Things (IoT)

【发表时间】2022 APR 1

【收录时间】2022-05-27

【文献类型】理论性文章

【主题类别】

区块链应用-实体经济-工业领域