SaTC: CORE: Small: Socio-Technical Approaches for Securing Cyber-Physical Systems from False Claim Attacks

The fragility and vulnerability of cyberspace has exposed society to risks of disruption with severe consequences. Although direct attacks on cyberspace with tools such as viruses and ransomware have been extensively examined, much less attention has been focused on preparing for an emerging, over-the-horizon threat: adversaries who attack cyber-physical systems (CPS) indirectly by altering consumption behavior of unwitting users influenced through false claims such as of traffic jams or gasoline shortages. This project is exploring socio-technical approaches that integrate social science with systems engineering to protect and defend CPS against harmful actions by adversaries who deploy such indirect attacks. This idea is represented with two layers: (i) an information layer being formed from social media and other social interactions, and (ii) a physical layer representing the physical components of a networked CPS (e.g., critical infrastructure network, Internet of Things). This work imagines an attack through the information layer that causes emergent human responses that adversely alter performance in the physical layer. The research objective of this proposal is to understand the effects of false claims in exposing and exacerbating the fragility and vulnerability of CPS and their performance. To combat such attacks and ensure the security and trustworthiness of cyber-physical systems, this project is developing knowledge across four research components that can (i) model and control the spread of influence on humans by false claims in the information layer through survey-driven agent-based models, (ii) relate this spread to the performance and vulnerabilities of the physical layer and develop protection-interdiction-reaction optimization models across layers, (iii) test and evaluate the model with a concrete example of false information spread on social networks and its effects on power networks, and (iv) offer a plan for the integration of research with classroom learning and outreach. This project is jointly funded by SaTC and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.