TY - GEN
T1 - Is Your Construction Site Secure? A View From the Cybersecurity Perspective
AU - Sonkor, M. S.
AU - de Soto, B. García
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Proceedings of the International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - The construction industry is increasingly using information technologies (IT) and operational technologies (OT) to enhance processes and operations through digitalization. Creating, editing, storing, and sharing information in digital environments is only one side of the coin; the other involves monitoring and controlling physical processes on construction sites. Given the nature of construction sites, where humans and machines/equipment work collaboratively, safety concerns arise. Utilizing interconnected and cyber-physical systems such as (semi)autonomous and remote-controlled machines on-site magnifies the importance of robust cybersecurity. Therefore, it becomes necessary to understand the threats against each networked equipment, analyze the vulnerabilities, assess the risks, and provide mitigation methods. Cybersecurity frameworks are effective solutions for this purpose; however, they are usually generic and thus require customization to be employed in the construction site environment. Against this background, this paper reviews existing cybersecurity frameworks/standards and selects the most suitable one to implement in the construction environment. The implementation was performed by customizing the selected generic framework considering the needs of a hypothetical construction site that utilizes autonomous earthmoving equipment. For the evaluation, a scoring system that was not included in the original framework was proposed. Given the paucity of studies in this field and lack of cybersecurity awareness in the construction industry, this study aims (1) to raise awareness about the potential cyber threats against construction sites that are increasingly interconnected, (2) to point out the need for a customized cyber assessment method on-site, and (3) help building a security-minded approach within the construction industry.
AB - The construction industry is increasingly using information technologies (IT) and operational technologies (OT) to enhance processes and operations through digitalization. Creating, editing, storing, and sharing information in digital environments is only one side of the coin; the other involves monitoring and controlling physical processes on construction sites. Given the nature of construction sites, where humans and machines/equipment work collaboratively, safety concerns arise. Utilizing interconnected and cyber-physical systems such as (semi)autonomous and remote-controlled machines on-site magnifies the importance of robust cybersecurity. Therefore, it becomes necessary to understand the threats against each networked equipment, analyze the vulnerabilities, assess the risks, and provide mitigation methods. Cybersecurity frameworks are effective solutions for this purpose; however, they are usually generic and thus require customization to be employed in the construction site environment. Against this background, this paper reviews existing cybersecurity frameworks/standards and selects the most suitable one to implement in the construction environment. The implementation was performed by customizing the selected generic framework considering the needs of a hypothetical construction site that utilizes autonomous earthmoving equipment. For the evaluation, a scoring system that was not included in the original framework was proposed. Given the paucity of studies in this field and lack of cybersecurity awareness in the construction industry, this study aims (1) to raise awareness about the potential cyber threats against construction sites that are increasingly interconnected, (2) to point out the need for a customized cyber assessment method on-site, and (3) help building a security-minded approach within the construction industry.
KW - Autonomous Earthmoving Equipment
KW - Construction 4.0
KW - Cyber-Physical Systems
KW - Cybersecurity
KW - Cybersecurity Frameworks
KW - Vulnerability Assessment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85127559052&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85127559052&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85127559052
T3 - Proceedings of the International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction
SP - 864
EP - 871
BT - Proceedings of the 38th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, ISARC 2021
A2 - Feng, Chen
A2 - Linner, Thomas
A2 - Brilakis, Ioannis
PB - International Association for Automation and Robotics in Construction (IAARC)
T2 - 38th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, ISARC 2021
Y2 - 2 November 2021 through 4 November 2021
ER -