Structural and Temporal Analysis of Real-Time Techniques to Improve Understanding and Operation of Intertwined Cyber–Physical System Architectures

Abstract

Critical infrastructure systems such as the electric grid are increasingly cyber–physical; however, despite their inherent cyber–physical characteristics, the physical process system and communication/control network system are traditionally analysed in silos. As these systems become more cyber–physical, it is crucial that models and methods are available to assess the cyber–physical system (CPS) interdependencies, characteristics and event propagation for improved planning, operation and response. Thus, we propose an integrated structural and temporal CPS interdependency analysis framework that provides insight into the CPS function during normal operation as well as disturbances. This structural and temporal analysis of real-time techniques (START) framework is uniquely designed for assessing CPSs by accounting for the challenges of analysing cyber and physical data streams together due to data availability, data type and time scale differences. By leveraging both structural (e.g., graph analysis) and temporal (e.g., data analytics) techniques, different CPS behaviours and configurations can be accounted for. This paper presents the START framework, a subset of techniques applied to exemplar transmission and microgrid systems and analysis of resulting structural and temporal CPS interdependency insights.