@incollection {Alcaraz2021d, title = {Situational Awareness for CPS}, booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Cryptography, Security and Privacy}, year = {2021}, month = {08/2021}, pages = {1--3}, publisher = {Springer Berlin Heidelberg}, organization = {Springer Berlin Heidelberg}, type = {Encyclopedia}, address = {Berlin, Heidelberg}, keywords = {Anomaly detection, Attack traceability, Prevention, Response, Visualization}, isbn = {978-3-642-27739-9}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-642-27739-9_1732-1}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27739-9_1732-1}, author = {Cristina Alcaraz} } @article {Alcaraz2021a, title = {Stakeholder Perspectives and Requirements on Cybersecurity in Europe}, journal = {Journal of Information Security and Applications}, volume = {61}, number = {102916}, year = {2021}, month = {09/2021}, publisher = {Elsevier}, keywords = {Cybersecurity, Requirements, Roadmap, Stakeholder engagement. Research \& innovation}, issn = {2214-2126}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jisa.2021.102916}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214212621001381}, author = {Simone Fischer-H{\"u}bner and Cristina Alcaraz and Afonso Ferreira and Carmen Fernandez-Gago and Javier Lopez and Evangelos Markatos and Lejla Islami and Mahdi Akil} } @inproceedings {1815, title = {SealedGRID: A Secure Interconnection of Technologies for Smart Grid Applications}, booktitle = {14th International Conference on Critical Information Infrastructures Security (CRITIS 2019)}, volume = {11777}, year = {2019}, month = {12/2019}, pages = {169-175}, publisher = {Springer, Cham}, organization = {Springer, Cham}, abstract = {

In recent years, the Smart Grid has increasingly integrated cutting-edge technologies that generate several benefits for all the stakeholders involved, such as a more accurate billing system and enhanced Demand Response procedures. However, this modernization also brings with it diverse cyber security and privacy issues, which sets the necessity for developing a security platform specifically tailored to this scenario. In this paper, we present SealedGRID, which proposes a flexible architecture that provides security services at all levels by implementing Trusted Execution Environments on their devices, together with advanced authentication and authorization mechanisms, as well as privacy preserving techniques. These technologies are presented in depth and a final security analysis is conducted, which highlights the contributions of this project.

}, isbn = {978-3-030-37669-7}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37670-3_14}, author = {Aristeidis Farao and Juan E. Rubio and Cristina Alcaraz and Christoforos Ntantogian and Christos Xenakis and Javier Lopez} } @incollection {alcaraz2019, title = {Secure Interconnection of IT-OT Networks in Industry 4.0}, booktitle = {Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience: Theories, Methods, Tools and Technologies}, number = {Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications book series (ASTSA)}, year = {2019}, month = {01/2019}, pages = {201-217}, publisher = {Springer International Publishing}, organization = {Springer International Publishing}, abstract = {

Increasingly, the society is witnessing how today{\textquoteright}s industry is adapting\ the new technologies and communication protocols to offer more optimal and reliable\ services to end-users, with support for inter-domain communication belonging\ to diverse critical infrastructures. As a consequence of this technological revolution,\ interconnection mechanisms are required to offer transparency in the connections\ and protection in the different application domains, without this implying a significant\ degradation of the control requirements. Therefore, this book chapter presents\ a reference architecture for the new Industry 4.0 where the interconnection core is\ mainly concentrated in the Policy Decision Points (PDP), which can be deployed\ in high volume data processing and storage technologies such as cloud and fog\ servers. Each PDP authorizes actions in the field/plant according to a set of factors\ (entities, context and risks) computed through the existing access control measures,\ such as RBAC+ABAC+Risk-BAC (Role/Attribute/Risk-Based Access Control, respectively),\ to establish coordinated and constrained accesses in extreme situations.\ Part of these actions also includes proactive risk assessment measures to respond to\ anomalies or intrusive threats in time.

}, isbn = {978-3-030-00024-0}, doi = {https//doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00024-0_11}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00024-0_11}, author = {Cristina Alcaraz} } @book {1776, title = {Security and Privacy Trends in the Industrial Internet of Things}, series = {Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications}, year = {2019}, publisher = {Springer}, organization = {Springer}, keywords = {Critical Infrastructure Protection, Industrial Internet of Things, SCADA Systems}, isbn = {978-3-030-12330-7}, url = {https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030123291}, author = {Cristina Alcaraz} } @article {IonnaisPanosMihalisAlcarazLopez2018, title = {Survey of IoT-enabled Cyberattacks: Assessing Attack Paths to Critical Infrastructures and Services}, journal = { IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials}, volume = {20}, year = {2018}, month = {07/2018}, pages = {3453-3495}, publisher = {IEEE}, abstract = {

As the deployment of Internet of Things (IoT)\ is experiencing an exponential growth, it is no surprise that\ many recent cyber attacks are IoT-enabled: The attacker initially\ exploits some vulnerable IoT technology as a first step towards\ compromising a critical system that is connected, in some way,\ with the IoT. For some sectors, like industry, smart grids,\ transportation and medical services, the significance of such\ attacks is obvious, since IoT technologies are part of critical backend\ systems. However, in sectors where IoT is usually at the enduser\ side, like smart homes, such attacks can be underestimated,\ since not all possible attack paths are examined. In this paper\ we survey IoT-enabled cyber attacks, found in all application\ domains since 2010. For each sector, we emphasize on the latest,\ verified IoT-enabled attacks, based on known real-world incidents\ and published proof-of-concept attacks. We methodologically\ analyze representative attacks that demonstrate direct, indirect\ and subliminal attack paths against critical targets. Our goal is\ threefold: (i) To assess IoT-enabled cyber attacks in a risk-like\ approach, in order to demonstrate their current threat landscape;\ (ii) To identify hidden and subliminal IoT-enabled attack paths\ against critical infrastructures and services, and (iii) To examine\ mitigation strategies for all application domains.

}, keywords = {Critical Infrastructures, Cyber Attacks, Intelligent Transportation Systems, Internet of Things, SCADA, Smart grids, Smart Home, Smart Medical Systems}, issn = {1553-877X}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1109/COMST.2018.2855563}, url = {https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8410404}, author = {Ioannis Stellios and Panayiotis Kotzanikolaou and Mihalis Psarakis and Cristina Alcaraz and Javier Lopez} } @incollection {1603, title = {Secure Interoperability in Cyber-Physical Systems}, booktitle = {Security Solutions and Applied Cryptography in Smart Grid Communications, IGI Global, USA}, year = {2017}, pages = {137-158}, publisher = { IGI Global}, organization = { IGI Global}, chapter = {8}, address = {USA}, abstract = {

Transparency in control transactions under a secure network architecture is a key topic that must be discussed when aspects related to interconnection between heterogeneous cyber-physical systems (CPSs) arise. The interconnection of these systems can be addressed through an enforcement policy system responsible for managing access control according to the contextual conditions. However, this architecture is not always adequate to ensure a rapid interoperability in extreme crisis situations, and can require an interconnection strategy that permits the timely authorized access from anywhere at any time. To do this, a set of interconnection strategies through the Internet must be studied to explore the ability of control entities to connect to the remote CPSs and expedite their operations, taking into account the context conditions. This research constitutes the contribution of this chapter, where a set of control requirements and interoperability properties are identified to discern the most suitable interconnection strategies.

}, keywords = {authentication, authorization, Control Access, Control systems, cyber-physical systems, Internet of Things, Interoperability, Secure Interconnection}, isbn = {9781522518297}, doi = {10.4018/978-1-5225-1829-7.ch008}, author = {Cristina Alcaraz and Javier Lopez} } @inproceedings {1600, title = {Selecting Privacy Solutions to Prioritise Control in Smart Metering Systems}, booktitle = {The 11th International Conference on Critical Information Infrastructures Security}, volume = {10242}, year = {2017}, pages = {176-188}, abstract = {

The introduction of the Smart Grid brings with it several benefits to society, because its bi-directional communication allows both users and utilities to have better control over energy usage. However, it also has some privacy issues with respect to the privacy of the customers when analysing their consumption data. In this paper we review the main privacy-preserving techniques that have been proposed and compare their efficiency, to accurately select the most appropriate ones for undertaking control operations. Both privacy and performance are essential for the rapid adoption of Smart Grid technologies.

}, keywords = {and Metering, Control, Data privacy, Smart Grid}, author = {Juan E. Rubio and Cristina Alcaraz and Javier Lopez} } @inproceedings {1598, title = {Safeguarding Structural Controllability in Cyber-Physical Control Systems}, booktitle = {The 21st European Symposium on Research in Computer Security (ESORICS 2016)}, volume = {9879}, year = {2016}, pages = {471-489}, publisher = {Springer}, organization = {Springer}, address = {Crete, Greece}, abstract = {

Automatic restoration of control wireless networks based on dynamic\ cyber-physical systems has become a hot topic in recent years, since most of their\ elements tend to have serious vulnerabilities that may be exploited by attackers.\ In fact, any exploitation may rapidly extend to the entire control network due to\ its problem of non-locality, where control properties of a system and its structural\ controllability can disintegrate over time. Unfortunately, automated self-healing\ processes may become costly procedures in which the reliability of the strategies\ and the time-critical of any recovery of the control can become key factors to\ re-establish the control properties in due time. This operational need is precisely\ the aim of this paper, in which four reachability-based recovery strategies from\ a thereotical point of view are proposed so as to find the best option/s in terms\ of optimization, robustness and complexity. To do this, new definitions related to\ structural controllability in relation to the type of distribution of the network and\ its control load capacity are given in this paper, resulting in an interesting practical\ study.

}, keywords = {Control systems, cyber-physical systems, restoration, self-healing, structural controllability}, isbn = {978-3-319-45741-3}, author = {Cristina Alcaraz and Javier Lopez} } @article {1752, title = {Security of Industrial Sensor Network-based Remote Substations in the context of the Internet of Things}, journal = {Ad Hoc Networks}, volume = {11}, year = {2013}, month = {2013}, pages = {1091{\textendash}1104}, publisher = {Elsevier}, abstract = {

The main objective of remote substations is to provide the central system with sensitive information from critical infrastructures, such as generation, distribution or transmission power systems. Wireless sensor networks have been recently applied in this particular context due to their attractive services and inherent benefits, such as simplicity, reliability and cost savings. However, as the number of control and data acquisition systems that use the Internet infrastructure to connect to substations increases, it is necessary to consider what connectivity model the sensor infrastructure should follow: either completely isolated from the Internet or integrated with it as part of the Internet of Things paradigm. This paper therefore addresses this question by providing a thorough analysis of both security requirements and infrastructural requirements corresponding to all those TCP/IP integration strategies that can be applicable to networks with constrained computational resources.

}, keywords = {Industrial Control Networks, Internet of Things, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Systems, The Internet, wireless sensor networks}, issn = {1570-8705}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adhoc.2012.12.001}, author = {Cristina Alcaraz and Rodrigo Roman and Pablo Najera and Javier Lopez} } @article {1770, title = {Smart Control of Operational Threats in Control Substations}, journal = {Computers \& Security}, volume = {38}, year = {2013}, month = {OCT 2013}, pages = {14-27}, publisher = {Elsevier}, abstract = {

Any deliberate or unsuitable operational action in control tasks of critical infrastructures, such as energy generation, transmission and distribution systems that comprise sub-domains of a Smart Grid, could have a significant impact on the digital economy: without energy, the digital economy cannot live. In addition, the vast majority of these types of critical systems are configured in isolated locations where their control depends on the ability of a few, supposedly trustworthy, human operators. However, this assumption of reliabilty is not always true. Malicious human operators (criminal insiders) might take advantage of these situations to intentionally manipulate the critical nature of the underlying infrastructure. These criminal actions could be not attending to emergency events, inadequately responding to incidents or trying to alter the normal behaviour of the system with malicious actions. For this reason, in\ this paper we propose a smart response mechanism that controls human operators{\textquoteright} operational threats at all times. Moreover, the design of this mechanism allows the system to be able to not only evaluate by itself, the situation of a particular scenario but also to take control when areas are totally unprotected and/or isolated. The response mechanism, which is based on Industrial Wireless Sensor Networks (IWSNs) for the constant monitoring of observed critical\ infrastructures, on reputation for controlling human operators{\textquoteright} actions, and on the ISA100.11a standard for alarm management, has been implemented and simulated to evaluate its feasibility for critical contexts.

}, keywords = {Digital Economy, Energy Control Systems, Reputation, security, Smart grids, wireless sensor networks}, issn = {0167-4048}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cose.2013.03.013}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167404813000588}, author = {Javier Lopez and Cristina Alcaraz and Rodrigo Roman} } @inproceedings {1810, title = {Structural Controllability of Networks for Non-Interactive Adversarial Vertex Removal}, booktitle = {8th International Conference on Critical Information Infrastructures Security}, volume = {8328}, year = {2013}, pages = {120-132}, publisher = {Springer}, organization = {Springer}, address = {Amsterdam, The Netherlands}, abstract = {

The problem of controllability of networks arises in a number of different\ domains, including in critical infrastructure systems where control must be\ maintained continuously. Recent work by Liu et al. has renewed interest in the\ seminal work by Lin on structural controllability, providing a graph-theoretical\ interpretation. This allows the identification of driver nodes capable of forcing the\ system into a desired state, which implies an obvious target for attackers wishing\ to disrupt the network control. Several methods for identifying driver nodes\ exist, but require undesirable computational complexity. In this paper, we therefore\ investigate the ability to regain or maintain controllability in the presence\ of adversaries able to remove vertices and implicit edges of the controllability\ graph. For this we rely on the POWER DOMINATING SET (PDS) formulation for\ identifying the control structure and study different attack strategies for multiple\ network models. As the construction of a PDS for a given graph is not unique,\ we further investigate different strategies for PDS construction, and provide a\ simulative evaluation.

}, issn = {0302-9743}, doi = {http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007\%2F978-3-319-03964-0_11}, author = {Cristina Alcaraz and Estefania Etcheves Miciolino and Stephen Wolthusen} } @incollection {BC2011Alcaraz, title = {Security Aspects of SCADA and DCS Environments}, booktitle = {Critical Infrastructure Protection: Information Infrastructure Models, Analysis, and Defense}, series = {Advances in Critical Infrastructure Protection: Information Infrastructure Models, Analysis, and Defense. LNCS 7130.}, volume = {7130}, year = {2012}, month = {September 2012}, pages = {120-149}, publisher = {Springer-Verlag}, organization = {Springer-Verlag}, address = {Heidelberger (Berlin, Alemania)}, abstract = {

SCADA Systems can be seen as a fundamental component in Critical Infrastructures, having an impact in the overall performance of other Critical Infrastructures interconnected. Currently, these systems include in their network designs different types of Information and Communication Technology systems (such as the Internet and wireless technologies), not only to modernize operational processes but also to ensure automation and real-time control. Nonetheless, the use of these new technologies will bring new security challenges, which will have a significant impact on both the business process and home users. Therefore, the main purpose of this Chapter is to address these issues and to analyze the interdependencies of Process Control Systems with ICT systems, to discuss some security aspects and to offer some possible solutions and recommendations.

}, keywords = {Critical Information Infrastructure Protection, SCADA Systems}, isbn = {ISBN:978-3-642-28919-4}, issn = {0302-9743}, author = {Cristina Alcaraz and Gerardo Fernandez and Fernando Carvajal}, editor = {Javier Lopez and Stephen. Wolthunsen and Roberto Setola} } @inproceedings {alcaraz2012b, title = {Smart Grid Privacy: Issues and Solutions}, booktitle = {21st International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks (ICCCN)}, year = {2012}, month = {Jul 2012}, pages = {1-5}, publisher = {IEEE Computer Society}, organization = {IEEE Computer Society}, address = {Munich, Germany}, abstract = {

Migration to an electronically controlled electrical grid to transmit, distribute, and deliver power to consumers has helped enhance the reliability and efficiency of conventional electricity systems. At the same time, this digitally enabled technology called the Smart Grid has brought new challenges to businesses and consumers alike. A key component of such a grid is the smart-metering technology, which is used to collect energy consumption data from homes and transmitting it back to power distributors. A crucial concern is the privacy related to the collection and use of energy consumption data. We present an analysis of Smart Grid privacy issues and discuss recently proposed solutions that can protect the privacy of Smart Grid users.

}, keywords = {Computer architecture, Data privacy, Electricity, Home appliances, privacy, security, Smart grids}, isbn = {978-1-4673-1543-2}, doi = {10.1109/ICCCN.2012.6289304}, url = {http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?tp=\&arnumber=6289304\&contentType=Conference+Publications\&openedRefinements\%3D*\%26pageNumber\%3D7\%26rowsPerPage\%3D100\%26queryText\%3D\%28smart+grid\%29}, author = {F. Siddiqui and S. Zeadally and Cristina Alcaraz and S. Galvao} } @article {Alcaraz2011a, title = {Secure SCADA Framework for the Protection of Energy Control Systems}, journal = {Concurrency and Computation Practice \& Experience}, volume = {23}, number = {12}, year = {2011}, month = {Aug 2011}, pages = {1414-1430}, publisher = {John Wiley \& Sons, Inc.}, abstract = {

Energy distribution systems are becoming increasingly widespread in today{\textquoteright}s society.\ One of the elements that is used to monitor and control these systems are the SCADA\ (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems. In particular, these control systems\ and their complexities, together with the emerging use of the Internet and wireless\ technologies, bring new challenges that must be carefully considered. Examples of such\ challenges are the particular bene{\textasciimacron}ts of the integration of those new technologies, and\ also the e{\textregistered}ects they may have on the overall SCADA security. The main task of this\ paper is to provide a framework that shows how the integration of di{\textregistered}erent state-of-the-art technologies in an energy control system, such as Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs),\ Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks (MANETs), and the Internet, can bring some interesting\ benefits such as status management and anomaly prevention, while maintaining the\ security of the whole system.

}, keywords = {Energy Distribution and Control Systems, SCADA Systems, Sensor Networks}, isbn = {23(12)1311-1464 (2011)}, issn = {1532-0626}, doi = {10.1002/cpe.1679}, author = {Cristina Alcaraz and Javier Lopez and Jianying Zhou and Rodrigo Roman} } @article {Alcaraz2010a, title = {A Security Analysis for Wireless Sensor Mesh Networks in Highly Critical Systems}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, Part C: Applications and Reviews}, volume = {40}, number = {4}, year = {2010}, month = {July}, pages = {419-428}, publisher = {IEEE}, abstract = {

Nowadays, critical control systems are a fundamental component contributing to the overall performance of critical infrastructures in our society, most of which belong to the industrial sector. These complex systems include in their design different types of information and communication technology systems, such as wireless (mesh) sensor networks, to carry out control processes in real time. This fact has meant that several communication standards, such as Zigbee PRO, WirelessHART, and ISA100.11a, have been specified to ensure coexistence, reliability, and security in their communications. The main purpose of this paper has been to review these three standards and analyze their security. We have identified a set of threats and potential attacks in their routing protocols, and we consequently provide recommendations and countermeasures to help Industry protect its infrastructures.

}, keywords = {Critical Control Systems, Critical Infrastructure Protection, SCADA Systems, Wireless Sensor Mesh Network}, issn = {1094-6977}, doi = {10.1109/TSMCC.2010.2045373}, url = {http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/search/srchabstract.jsp?tp=\&arnumber=5443456\&queryText\%253DC.+Alcaraz\%2526openedRefinements\%253D*\%2526searchField\%253DSearch+All\&fromGateway=true}, author = {Cristina Alcaraz and Javier Lopez} } @article {Alcaraz2008b, title = {Secure Management of SCADA Networks}, journal = {Novatica, New Trends in Network Management}, volume = {9}, number = {6}, year = {2008}, month = {December}, pages = {22-28}, publisher = {Cepis UPGRADE}, abstract = {

When a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system monitors and manages other complex infrastructures through the use of distributed technologies, it becomes a critical infrastructure by itself: A failure or disruption in any of its components could implicate a serious impact on the performance of the other infrastructures. The connection with other systems makes a SCADA system more vulnerable against attacks, generating new security problems. As a result, it is essential to perform diverse security analysis frequently in order to keep an updated knowledge and to provide recommendations and/or solutions to mitigate or avoid anomalous events. This will facilitate the existence of a suitable, reliable, and available control network.

}, keywords = {SCADA network management, Security Analysis, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Systems}, issn = {1684-5285}, url = {http://www.upgrade-cepis.org/issues/2008/6/up9-6Alcaraz.pdf}, author = {Cristina Alcaraz and Gerardo Fernandez and Rodrigo Roman and Angel Balastegui and Javier Lopez} } @inproceedings {JavierLopez2006a, title = {Service-Oriented Security Architecture for CII based on Sensor Networks}, booktitle = {2nd International Workshop on Security Privacy and Trust in Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing (SecPerU{\textquoteright}06)}, year = {2006}, month = {June}, pages = {1-6}, publisher = {IEEE Press}, organization = {IEEE Press}, address = {Lyon, France}, abstract = {

The extraordinary growth of the Information Society is originating a high dependency on ICT. This provokes that those strongly interrelated technological infrastructures, as well as the information systems that underpin them, become highly critical, since their disruption would lead to high economical, material and, sometimes, human loss. As a consequence, the protection of these Critical Information Infrastructures is becoming a major objective for governments and companies. In this paper, we give an overview of the main challenges and open research issues on Critical Information Infrastructure security, and introduce an on-going research project that, using wireless sensor networks as an underlying technology, is dealing with those problems. Our research project focuses on the development of protection, control, evaluation, maintenance and verification mechanisms, integrated into a secure service-oriented architecture.

}, author = {Javier Lopez and Jose A. Montenegro and Rodrigo Roman} }