CD Laboratory for Security and Quality Improvement in the Production System Lifecycle

The lifecycle of Industry 4.0 systems, from design to commissioning to ongoing operation and recycling, is inherently connected to the Internet. The research of this CD Laboratory improves the cybersecurity of such systems.

Industrial production systems, such as robots, manufacturing cells, or steel mills, must control high-performance, high-risk physical processes and meet specific safety, environmental, and quality standards. The task of Production Systems Engineering (PSE) is to develop and realize such complex technical systems using an interdisciplinary approach. In cyber-physical systems, these production systems are also connected to the Internet and thus exposed to potential security risks such as industrial espionage or data theft. It is therefore much more difficult to fulfill the above-mentioned standards in such so-called Industry 4.0 systems.

The entire design cycle up to the installation of such a production system requires information processing and data exchange via the Internet as part of the creation, exchange and use of design documents and artifacts. This is especially true for the description, design, configuration, and verification capabilities of the future production system and its parts. Information security and cyber security are therefore essential requirements in modern networked environments.

Many production systems and PSE processes are still located in isolated environments without extended IT security requirements. Legacy systems are a particular problem. Legacy systems are typically strategically important, but outdated computer systems that have been in place for a long time and cannot be easily replaced. They operate with outdated security requirements. Due to the high level of complexity, PSE is often performed on a global scale with data sources connected via the Internet, often in collaboration with partners that are not fully trustworthy. Even poorly secured legacy systems can be inadvertently connected to the Internet, e.g. by replacing a component, and their maintenance or integration into newer systems poses a high security risk. However, existing approaches to cybersecurity are not directly applicable to typical PSE and production system environments.

The mission of this CD Laboratory is to research and develop concepts to improve security and quality throughout the lifecycle of cyber-physical production system families. Such an approach goes far beyond the traditional boundaries of the PSE security focus (data exchange) and the production system security focus (access to the production line). The long-term vision is to design and evaluate methods and mechanisms to mitigate security risks in both the PSE and operational phases as a basis for secure, self-adaptive production systems in line with the Industry 4.0 vision.