Cybersecurity of Discrete Event Systems
From Smart Attacks to Resilient Defence
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 20. July 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
264 pages
978-1-032-36812-2 (ISBN)
Description
This book describes analysis and control against smart cyberattacks in discrete event systems (DES). This is the first technical DES book to provide a thorough introduction to smart cyberattacks on supervisory control systems modelled by regular languages or finite-state automata and possible resilient defence methods against smart cyberattacks.
"Smart attacks" cannot be detected by the supervisor until an irreversible process toward ensured damage occurs. An attack may be conducted either in the observation channel (i.e., the supervisor's input of the supervisor) or in the command channel (i.e., the supervisor's output) or both simultaneously. Therefore, defence strategies against these attacks are urgently needed. Rong Su provides a comprehensive overview of the latest theories and includes empirical examples to illustrate concepts and methods. By centering on what information is available and how such information is used, the readers are provided with methods to evaluate the cyber vulnerability of a given system and design a resilient supervisor against relevant smart attacks. This book comprises two sections. Firstly, Su introduces the required concepts and techniques related to DES and supervisory control. Then he introduces different types of smart attacks that intercept and manipulate information in sensor and command channels in a standard closed-loop control system. Secondly, he presents resilient defence strategies against relevant types of attacks.
By focusing on a conceptual introduction and systematic analysis, this book provides a solid theoretical foundation for future exploration by researchers and graduate students who are interested in cybersecurity research, not necessarily limited to those in the DES community. To illustrate the practical relevance of this research, realistic examples are used throughout this book. Readers are recommended to have a background in formal language theory.
"Smart attacks" cannot be detected by the supervisor until an irreversible process toward ensured damage occurs. An attack may be conducted either in the observation channel (i.e., the supervisor's input of the supervisor) or in the command channel (i.e., the supervisor's output) or both simultaneously. Therefore, defence strategies against these attacks are urgently needed. Rong Su provides a comprehensive overview of the latest theories and includes empirical examples to illustrate concepts and methods. By centering on what information is available and how such information is used, the readers are provided with methods to evaluate the cyber vulnerability of a given system and design a resilient supervisor against relevant smart attacks. This book comprises two sections. Firstly, Su introduces the required concepts and techniques related to DES and supervisory control. Then he introduces different types of smart attacks that intercept and manipulate information in sensor and command channels in a standard closed-loop control system. Secondly, he presents resilient defence strategies against relevant types of attacks.
By focusing on a conceptual introduction and systematic analysis, this book provides a solid theoretical foundation for future exploration by researchers and graduate students who are interested in cybersecurity research, not necessarily limited to those in the DES community. To illustrate the practical relevance of this research, realistic examples are used throughout this book. Readers are recommended to have a background in formal language theory.
Reviews / Votes
"This book gives an invaluable guide to cybersecurity in discrete event systems, from modeling and synthesis of cyberattacks to design of resilient supervisors. A must-read for researchers and students, this book seamlessly blends resilient supervisors with smart attackers, starting a new and comprehensive approach to one of the most challenge problems in cybersecurity."- Prof Feng Lin, Wayne State University, Fellow of IEEE
"This book provides a timely and systematic analysis for smart attacks and resilience for better cyber security from the perspective of discrete-events and provides excellent theoretical insights on how smart attacks might leverage on existing supervisory control logics to inflict damage to systems without being detected easily, and how such attacks could be prevented by properly designed supervisory controls. Enjoy your reading and digestion of the first, interesting and inspiring monograph on cybersecurity research!"
- Prof Sam Shuzhi Ge, National University of Singapore, Fellow of IEEE, Fellow of IFAC, Fellow of IET
"This book provides comprehensive coverage of a framework for modelling cyber-attacks and developing defence (as well as attack!) strategies in the context of discrete event systems. Rong Su, who has been working on discrete event systems for more than two decades, provides an elegant description of the recent work of his group on discrete event system cybersecurity. Well motivated and quite thorough exposition, ranging from smart sensor attacks to resilient supervisory control strategies! I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in cybersecurity aspects in finite state dynamic systems."
-Prof Christoforos Hadjicostis, University of Cyprus, Fellow of IEEE
"Cybersecurity is no doubt one of the most important subjects and has been affecting everyone on this planet on a daily basis. This book provides a nice introduction to this subject in the framework of discrete event systems (DES), addressing smart cyberattacks and suitable/effective defense techniques against them. It presents mathematically rigorous concepts, methods, and theory as well as many practically useful algorithms for this complex and important subject. The insights provided in the book are expected to benefit researchers and practitioners not only in the DES community but also in much broader communities of control, communication, networking and cyber-physical systems. Hence, I highly recommend this book to all who have a genuine interest in cybersecurity."
- Prof Mengchu Zhou, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Fellow of IEEE, Fellow of IFAC, Fellow of AAAS, Fellow of CAA, Fellow of NAI
"This excellent book introduces a comprehensive array of formal approaches essential for cybersecurity analysis and defense, drawing inspiration from the cutting-edge theoretical advancements in discrete event systems."
- Prof Alessandro Giua, University of Cagliari (Italy), Fellow of IEEE, Fellow of IFAC
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Academic and Postgraduate
Illustrations
103 s/w Zeichnungen, 2 s/w Photographien bzw. Rasterbilder, 105 s/w Abbildungen
103 Line drawings, black and white; 2 Halftones, black and white; 105 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-032-36812-2 (9781032368122)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
09/2024
1st Edition
CRC Press
€133.50
Shipment within 10-20 days
E-Book
09/2024
1st Edition
CRC Press
€73.99
Available for download
E-Book
09/2024
1st Edition
CRC Press
€73.99
Available for download
Person
Rong Su, PhD, is a Professor at the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Director of the Centre for System Intelligence and Efficiency at Nanyang Technological University. He earned a BE degree at the University of Science and Technology of China and an MAS degree and a PhD degree at the University of Toronto. Dr. Su is a senior member of IEEE and an associate editor for IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics, Automatica (IFAC), Journal of Discrete Event Dynamic Systems and Journal of Control and Decision. Dr. Su is prolifically published and has received several best paper awards, such as the 2021 Hsue-shen Tsien Paper Award from the IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica and the Best Paper Award at the 15th International Conference on Advanced Systems in Public Transport (CASPT2022). He is an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer for the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society.
Content
1. Introduction to Cybersecurity in Discrete Event Systems. Part I: Modeling and Synthesis of Smart Attacks. 2. Smart Sensor Attacks. 3. Smart Sensor-Actuator Attacks. 4. Smart Attacks with Unknown Supervisor. Part II: Modeling and Synthesis of Resilient Supervisors. 5. Resilient Supervisory Control against Smart Sensor Attacks. 6. System Vulnerability Analysis via Attack Model Reduction. 7. Supervisor Obfuscation against Smart Actuator Attacks.