TY - JOUR

T1 - Walking under the ladder logic: PLC-VBS

T2 - a PLC control logic vulnerability scanning tool

AU - Maesschalck, Sam

AU - Staves, Alexander

AU - Derbyshire, Richard

AU - Green, Benjamin

AU - Hutchison, David

PY - 2023/4/30

Y1 - 2023/4/30

N2 - Cyber security risk assessments provide a crucial starting point towards the understanding of existing risk exposure, via which suitable mitigation strategies can be formed. Risk is viewed as a product of threat, vulnerability and impact, and equal understanding of each of these elements is vitally important. This can be a challenge in Industrial Control System (ICS) environments, where adopted technologies are typically not only bespoke, but interact directly with the physical world. To date, existing vulnerability identification has focused on traditional vulnerability categories. While this approach provides risk assessors with a baseline understanding and the ability to hypothesize about potential resulting impacts, it is rather high level, operating at a level of abstraction that would be viewed as incomplete within a traditional information system context. The work presented in this paper takes the understanding of ICS device vulnerabilities a step deeper. It offers a tool, PLC-VBS, that helps identify Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) vulnerabilities, specifically within logic used to monitor, control, and automate operational processes. PLC-VBS gives risk assessors a more coherent picture about the potential impact should the identified vulnerabilities be exploited; this applies specifically to operational process elements.

AB - Cyber security risk assessments provide a crucial starting point towards the understanding of existing risk exposure, via which suitable mitigation strategies can be formed. Risk is viewed as a product of threat, vulnerability and impact, and equal understanding of each of these elements is vitally important. This can be a challenge in Industrial Control System (ICS) environments, where adopted technologies are typically not only bespoke, but interact directly with the physical world. To date, existing vulnerability identification has focused on traditional vulnerability categories. While this approach provides risk assessors with a baseline understanding and the ability to hypothesize about potential resulting impacts, it is rather high level, operating at a level of abstraction that would be viewed as incomplete within a traditional information system context. The work presented in this paper takes the understanding of ICS device vulnerabilities a step deeper. It offers a tool, PLC-VBS, that helps identify Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) vulnerabilities, specifically within logic used to monitor, control, and automate operational processes. PLC-VBS gives risk assessors a more coherent picture about the potential impact should the identified vulnerabilities be exploited; this applies specifically to operational process elements.

KW - ICS

KW - SCADA

KW - PLC

KW - Cyber Security

KW - PLC Vulnerability Scanner

KW - PLC Programming Practices

U2 - 10.1016/j.cose.2023.103116

DO - 10.1016/j.cose.2023.103116

M3 - Journal article

VL - 127

JO - Computers and Security

JF - Computers and Security

SN - 0167-4048

M1 - 103116

ER -