A Blockchain‑Based Approach to Secure Networked Control Systems Against False Data Injection Attacks

A networked control system (NCS) is one in which the control and feedback signals are interchanged among the actuator, sensor, and controller through a communication network. The presence of a network in the closed loop in a NCS causes time delays and/or packet loss, making the system vulnerable to probable network attacks. Time delays and packet loss in NCSs have been extensively studied in the literature, whereas network attacks, because of their diverse nature, have not been adequately examined. This paper attempts to contribute to the research regarding cyber-attacks on NCSs and proposes a Blockchain based approach to secure NCSs against false data injection (FDI) attacks. In the approach proposed herein, a Blockchain-based security schema is designed and incorporated to the NCS structure to secure a copy of data interchanged between the system components and to recover valid data in the event of FDI attacks on the system. The efficacy of this framework is validated with a detailed simulation. The simulation results show that Blockchain can secure the networked control system against FDI.