Unpredictable Switching for Cyber-Physical Security Against Worst-case Attackers

Aris Kanellopoulos, Filippos Fotiadis, Kyriakos G. Vamvoudakis, Henrik Sandberg

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate the problem of securing a system against actuator attacks. Specifically, we employ an unpredictability-based defense algorithm according to the principles of Moving Target Defense, while explicitly considering the worst-case attack that can be launched into the system. Consequently, we allow the system to alternate between different actuating modes, but also between optimal and robust control schemes. Via game-theoretic methods, we derive mixed strategies dictating the probabilities of utilizing different controllers for a given mode of operation, whereas an entropy-augmented optimization problem gives the probabilities of using these different modes. Finally, the overall stability of the system is analyzed, and simulation results showcase the efficacy of our proposed method.