International Association
for Cryptologic Research

Industrial control systems (ICS) operate critical infrastructures, such as railway networks, gas and electricity grids. Although these systems perform critical functions, many still use legacy embedded systems to perform their tasks. An ICS operator can connect commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) devices to the ICS network directly through USB or serial connection or remotely through a virtual private network. For example, an electricity utility company may depend on its staff to use their hand-held devices to install or maintain (e.g. troubleshooting) smart meters. COTS devices are usually internet connected devices and hence, can be compromised by an attacker. Such compromised COTS device can be used to launch attacks on legacy embedded systems and its ecosystem. In this project, we will use existing Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) on COTS devices and implement a framework which will allow the use of the COTS devices without any compromise on trust. In this case, the ICS operator will issue the applications for the COTS operator that will be able to communicate with the ICS devices using the required protocol and perform the necessary maintenance tasks. The project work will involve proposing novel architectural solution and/or novel operating system-based solution.

Closing date for applications:

Contact: Arnab Kumar Biswas

More information: https://www.qub.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate-research/phd-opportunities/a-trusted-execution-environment-based-framework-for-securing-legacy-embedded-systems.html