A Cybersecurity Testbed for Smart Buildings

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaper

Abstract

Smart buildings are equipped with a plethora of cyber-physical systems, such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices and building automation systems. These devices, especially in commercial buildings, use legacy communications and hardware that were not designed with cybersecurity in mind. With increasing cyber threats in recent years, smart buildings have become an increasing target for attacks, but not enough published data are available from these incidents to study or replicate the scenarios to defend buildings. As part of the U.S. Department of Energy-funded project focusing on developing the Building Intelligence with Layered Defense Using Security-Constrained Optimization and Security Risk Detection (BUILD-SOS) platform, we developed a cybersecurity test bed for smart buildings. This test bed includes a building simulation tool, virtual devices, emulated operational technology networks, and remote hardware-in-the-loop. Using this test bed, we performed different cyberattacks on the smart building model and collected both physical building data, to understand the impacts on the building, and network data, to aid in separating mechanical faults from cyberattacks during the detection. This test bed is a significant tool in protecting smart buildings from cyberattacks because it can aid in both cybersecurity analysis and the evaluation of other cyberattack detection tools by testing the tools in a secure environment without impacting the building operations.
Original languageAmerican English
Number of pages9
StatePublished - 2023
Event2023 ASHRAE Annual Conference - Tampa, Florida
Duration: 24 Jun 202328 Jun 2023

Conference

Conference2023 ASHRAE Annual Conference
CityTampa, Florida
Period24/06/2328/06/23

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/CP-5R00-85639

Keywords

  • cyber-physical systems
  • cybersecurity
  • smart buildings
  • testbed

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