Patent Description:
With the continuous development and progress of the Internet of Things (IOT) technology and the Operational Technology (OT), a large production enterprise requires that all industrial control systems should be monitored in a security monitoring system. Therefore, different industrial control systems will be connected to one security monitoring system to constitute an OT network. However, the OT network has a high risk of being maliciously attacked because of a weak security defense capability of the industrial control systems.

Currently, when the security of an industrial control system is analyzed, communication data packets transmitted between control devices in the industrial control system to be analyzed are collected, and then the security of the industrial control system to be analyzed is analyzed according to the collected communication data packets to determine whether the industrial control system to be analyzed has a risk of being maliciously attacked.

For the current method of analyzing the security of an industrial control system, the security of the industrial control system to be analyzed is analyzed according to communication data packets collected from the industrial control system to be analyzed, with the influence between different industrial control systems in one OT network not considered. However, an industrial control system may influence the security of another industrial control system in the same OT network when maliciously attacked. Thus, the security of the industrial control system cannot be analyzed accurately. <CIT>, discloses real time security, integrity, and reliablility postures of operational, OT, information IT, and security ST system as well as slower changing security and operational blueprint, policies, processes and rules governing the enterprise security and business risk management process, dynamically evolve and adapt to domain, context, and situational awareness, as well as the controls implemented across the operational and information systems that are controlled.

In view of this, the industrial control system security analysis method and apparatus, and the computer-readable medium provided by the present invention can be used to analyze the security of an industrial control system more accurately.

In a first aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide an industrial control system security analysis method, and the method comprises:.

In a first possible implementation mode, in combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, determining whether the network identifiable information is located in a pre-created event database comprises:.

In a second possible implementation mode, in combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, acquiring security policies of the first industrial control system and each second industrial control system respectively comprises:.

In a third possible implementation mode, in combination with the above-mentioned second possible implementation mode, determining a threat coefficient of the communication data packet for each of the second industrial control systems according to the network identifiable information and each of the security policies comprises:
for one of the control devices located in one of the second industrial control systems, performing the following operations:.

In a fourth possible implementation mode, in combination with the first aspect and any of the first possible implementation mode, the second possible implementation mode and the third possible implementation mode of the first aspect, after acquiring security policies of the first industrial control system and each of the second industrial control systems respectively, the method further comprises:.

In a second aspect, embodiments of the present invention further provide an industrial control system security analysis apparatus, and the apparatus comprises:.

In a first possible implementation mode, in combination with the second aspect, the determination module comprises:.

In a second possible implementation mode, in combination with the second aspect, the policy acquisition module comprises:.

In a third possible implementation mode, in combination with the second possible implementation mode, the second analysis module comprises:.

In a fourth possible implementation mode, in combination with the second aspect and any of the first possible implementation mode, the second possible implementation mode and the third possible implementation mode of the second aspect, the industrial control system security apparatus further comprises:.

In a third aspect, the embodiments of the present invention further provide another industrial control system security analysis apparatus and the apparatus comprises at least one memory and at least one processor, wherein.

It can be seen from the above-mentioned technical solution that an OT network comprises at least two industrial control systems, a communication data packet is collected from a first industrial control system in the OT network, network identifiable information is extracted from the collected communication data packet, then it is determined whether the collected communication data packet is a malicious data packet or not according to the extracted network identifiable information and a pre-created event database, security policies of industrial control systems in the OT network are further acquired if the collected communication data packet is a malicious data packet possibly attacking the first industrial control system, and the threat coefficient of the malicious data packet for each of the second industrial control system other than the first industrial control system in the OT network is determined according to the acquired security policies and the extracted network identifiable information. It can be seen that, for any industrial control system in the OT network, not only whether a communication data packet transmitted between control devices in the industrial control system is a malicious data packet will be analyzed, but also the threat of malicious data packets transmitted in other industrial control systems to the industrial control system will be analyzed according to the security policies of industrial control systems in the OT network. Thus, the security problem existing in industrial control systems can be analyzed more comprehensively, and the security of the industrial control systems can be analyzed more accurately.

Description of reference numerals in the drawings:.

As described above, communication data packets transmitted between control devices in an industrial control system in an OT network consisting of a plurality of industrial control systems may be collected, and then the security of industrial control systems may be analyzed according to the collected communication data packets, wherein communication data packets may be control instructions or device state information. Currently, when the security of industrial control systems is analyzed, communication data packets transmitted between control devices in each industrial control system are collected respectively, and then the security of the corresponding industrial control system is analyzed according to the collected communication data packets. However, industrial control systems in an OT network will influence each other. An industrial control system may influence the security of another industrial control system in the OT network when attacked maliciously. Therefore, the security of each industrial control system is independently analyzed according to the communication data packets transmitted between control devices, a malicious attack on an industrial control system cannot be reflected comprehensively. As a result, the security of an industrial control system cannot be analyzed accurately.

In the embodiments of the present invention, a communication data packet is collected from an industrial control system, the security policies of industrial control systems in an OT network where the industrial control system is located are acquired when the collected communication data packet is determined to be a malicious data packet, and then the threat coefficients of the malicious data packet for other industrial control systems in the OT network are analyzed according to the acquired security policies. Thus, it can be seen that when the security of an industrial control system is analyzed, not only whether a communication data packet between control devices in the current industrial control system is a malicious data packet is checked, but also the threat of malicious data collected in other industrial control systems to the current industrial control system is determined according to security policies of industrial control systems in one OT network, and then the security of the industrial control system can be analyzed more comprehensively to guarantee the accuracy of the analysis of the security of the industrial control system.

The industrial control system security analysis method and apparatus provided by embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below in combination with the drawings.

As shown in <FIG>, embodiments of the present invention provide an industrial control system security analysis method and the method comprises the following steps:.

In the embodiments of the present invention, an OT network comprises at least two industrial control systems, a communication data packet is collected from a first industrial control system in the OT network, network identifiable information is extracted from the collected communication data packet, then it is determined whether the collected communication data packet is a malicious data packet or not according to the extracted network identifiable information and a pre-created event database, security policies of industrial control systems in the OT network are further acquired if the collected communication data packet is a malicious data packet possibly attacking the first industrial control system, and the threat coefficient of the malicious data packet for each of the second industrial control system other than the first industrial control system in the OT network is determined according to the acquired security policies and the extracted network identifiable information. It can be seen that, for any industrial control system in the OT network, not only whether a communication data packet transmitted between control devices in the industrial control system is a malicious data packet will be analyzed, but also the threat of malicious data packets transmitted in other industrial control systems to the industrial control system will be analyzed according to the security policies of industrial control systems in the OT network. Thus, the security problem existing in industrial control systems can be analyzed more comprehensively, and the security of the industrial control systems can be analyzed more accurately.

In the embodiments of the present invention, when a communication data packet is collected from the first industrial control system, the traffic of the first industrial control system can be intercepted to obtain communication data packets transmitted between control devices in the first industrial control systems. Specifically, a probe (data acquisition sensor) is set in the first industrial control system, and the probe is used to intercept traffic from the access switch and the system bus in the first industrial control system, wherein the system bus is used to connect a programmable logic controller (PLC) with engineer stations and operator stations, and the access switch is used to connect an operation center with engineer stations and operator stations. Alternatively, on the basis of the industrial control system security analysis method shown in <FIG>, the collected communication data packet is interactive data, for example, control instructions or state feedback information, transmitted between control devices in the industrial control system. To help to analyze the security of the industrial control system according to the communication data packet, it is necessary to extract network identifiable information from the communication data packet. Network identifiable information is configured to identify the communication object, communication rule and communication content of the corresponding communication data packet. Then, whether the communication data packet is a malicious data packet or not is determined according to the communication object, communication rule and the communication content. On the basis that the communication data packet is determined to be a malicious data packet, the threat of the communication data packet to other industrial control systems is determined. Network identifiable parameters may include any one or more of the following identification parameters: asset information, IP address, communication port, communication protocol, application information and special identifications in a protocol. Among them, the asset information is the device asset information of the control device receiving and sending the corresponding communication data packet, for example, device name, device type, device supplier, and version number of operating system/firmware of the device, the IP address is the IP address of the control device receiving the corresponding communication data packet, the communication port is the port used for receiving and sending the corresponding communication data packet, the communication protocol is the protocol used for receiving and sending the corresponding communication data packet, and the application information is the application information of the application for receiving and sending the corresponding communication data packet, for example, application name and version.

In the embodiments of the present invention, after network identifiable information is extracted from a communication data packet, whether at least one of identification parameters contained in the network identifiable information exists in a pre-created event database can be detected. If at least one identification parameter contained in the network identifiable information exists in the event database, the collected communication data packet is determined to be a malicious data packet. If none of the identification parameters contained in the network identifiable information exists in the event database, the collected data packet is determined to be a legal data packet. Identification parameters which malicious data packets have are stored in the event database, and then the identification parameters contained in network identifiable information are matched against the identification parameters in the event database. Thus, it is possible to accurately determine whether a communication data packet which the network identifiable information corresponds to is a malicious data packet or not, and then the accuracy of the analysis of the security of an industrial control system can be further guaranteed.

Alternatively, on the basis of the industrial control system security analysis method shown in <FIG>, after a communication data packet is determined to be a malicious data packet, security policies of industrial control systems in the OT network are be acquired, and then the threat of the communication data packet to the industrial control systems are analyzed according to the acquired security policies. Security policies of industrial control systems in the OT network can be acquired in the following ways:.

In the embodiments of the present invention, after a communication data packet collected from the first industrial control system is determined to be a malicious data packet, the communication data packet will possibly be transmitted from one control device to another control device in the first industrial control system, or transmitted from the first industrial control system to the second industrial control system, or transmitted from one control device to another control device in the second industrial control system, the firewall of a control device is used to filter a malicious data packet received by the control device, the firewall between industrial control systems is used to filter a malicious data packet transmitted between industrial control systems, and the firewalls filter malicious data packets according to the corresponding security policies. Therefore, by acquiring security policies from the firewalls of control devices and the firewalls between industrial control systems, the threat coefficients of the threats posed by malicious data packets transmitted to corresponding industrial control systems via different paths can be analyzed, and in addition, the control devices which will possibly be attacked by malicious data packets and the specific degree at which the control devices will be influenced can be analyzed. Thus, the security of industrial control systems can be analyzed more comprehensively.

In the embodiments of the present invention, security policies are the bases for filtering and processing malicious data packets, and to be specific, security policies may be permitted/denied source addresses, permitted/denied destination addresses, permitted/denied services/protocols and permitted/denied secure areas.

Alternatively, after security policies are acquired from the firewalls of the control devices and the firewalls between industrial control systems in the OT network, the threat coefficient of a communication data packet for each of the second industrial control systems can be determined according to the network identifiable information extracted from the communication data packet and the acquired security policies. As shown in <FIG>, the threat coefficient of the communication data packet for a second industrial control system can be determined in the following way:.

In the embodiments of the present invention, the first probability is configured to represent the probability of the communication data packet passing the firewall between the first industrial control system and the second industrial control system, the second probability is configured to represent the probability of the communication data packet posing a threat to a corresponding control device in the second industrial control system after passing the first industrial control system and the second industrial control system, the first security policy is a security policy acquired from the firewall between the first industrial control system and the second industrial control system, and the second security policy is a security policy of a corresponding control device in the second industrial control system. The first probability can be determined according to the matching relationship between the network identifiable information and the first security policy, and the second probability can be determined according to the matching relationship between the network identifiable information and the second security policy.

In the embodiments of the present invention, since one industrial control system usually comprises a plurality of control devices and different control devices are responsible for performing different tasks in the industrial control system, different control devices have different importance to the industrial control system. Corresponding importance weights can be preset for different control devices according to their importance to the industrial control system so that the importance weight of a control device corresponds to the importance of the control device to the industrial control system. For a control device in a second industrial control system, the threat coefficient component for the control device can be determined according to the first probability, the second probability and the importance weight corresponding to the control device. Then the threat coefficient components of control devices in the second industrial control system can be summed up to obtain the threat coefficient of the communication data packet for the second industrial control system.

In the embodiments of the present invention, the probability of a malicious data packet passing firewalls to reach control devices can be determined according to the security policy acquired from the firewall between industrial control systems and the security policies acquired from the firewalls of control devices, the threat coefficient component for a control device can be determined according to the probability of the malicious data packet reaching the control device and the importance of the control device to the industrial control system, and the threat coefficient of a communication data packet for an industrial control system can be determined according to the threat coefficient components of control devices in the industrial control system. When the threat coefficient of a communication data packet for an industrial control system is determined, the probability of control devices in an industrial control system being influenced by a communication data packet and the importance of control devices to the industrial control system are considered together so that the determined threat coefficient is more accurate. Thus, the accuracy of the analysis of the security of an industrial control system is further improved.

Alternatively, on the basis of the industrial control system security analysis method provided by the above-mentioned embodiments, after the security policies of the first industrial control system and each second industrial control system are acquired, all the control devices that are possibly attacked by a communication data packet can be determined according to the acquired security policies, and optimization suggestions for optimizing security policies can be generated according to all the control devices that are possibly attacked by the communication data packet. As shown in <FIG>, the method for optimizing security policies may comprise the following steps:.

In the embodiments of the present invention, for a control device in the first industrial control system, the probability of the control device being attacked by a communication data packet is determined according to the degree of matching between the security policy acquired from the firewall of the control device and the network identifiable information, and for a control device in a second industrial control system, the probability of the control device being attacked by a communication data packet is determined according to the degree of matching between the corresponding first security policy and second security policy of the control device and the network identifiable information. An attack probability threshold is preset. When the probability of a control device being attacked by a communication data packet is greater than the attack probability threshold, the control device is determined to be a target control device.

In the embodiments of the present invention, for each target control device, if the target control device is located in the first industrial control system, the threat coefficient of a communication data packet for the target control device is equal to the probability of the target control device being attacked by the communication data packet, and if the target control device is located in a second industrial control system, the threat coefficient of the communication data packet for the target control device is equal to the product of the first probability and second probability corresponding to the target control device.

In the embodiments of the present invention, after the threat coefficient for each target control device is determined, each target control device and the threat coefficient for each target control device are sent to a manager, and the manager confirms whether a communication data packet is illegal data packet according to the threat coefficient of each target control device. After a user sends a confirmation instruction indicating that the communication data packet is an illegal data packet, optimization suggestions for optimizing at least one acquired security policy are generated according to the network identifiable information.

In the embodiments of the present invention, after the target control devices which are possibly attacked by a communication data packet are determined, identification information of each target control device and the threat coefficient are sent to the manager, and the manager determines whether the communication data packet is an illegal data packet according to the identification information of each target control device and the threat coefficient. If the manager determines that the communication data packet is really an illegal data packet, optimization suggestions for optimizing security policies are automatically generated according to the network identifiable information and the generated optimization suggestions are sent to policy optimization software or the manager so that the security policies can be optimized and the optimized security policies can effectively process the communication data packet which is determined to be an illegal data packet. Thus, the security of the industrial control systems and the OT network is improved.

In the embodiments of the present invention, after the manager confirms that the communication data packet is an illegal data packet, related information of the communication data packet and the identification information of each target control device are sent to an alarm module, and the alarm module sends out alarm information so that a network maintainer can process the communication data packet in time to avoid the communication data packet from posing a heavier attack on the OT network.

Alternatively, after the network identifiable information is extracted from the communication data packet, whether a pre-created distrusted asset database contains the extracted network identifiable information is detected. If the distrusted asset database contains the network identifiable information, the service or application traffic measurement information corresponding to the communication data packet is determined according to the information stored in the distrusted asset database, and the determined service or application traffic measurement information is sent to the manager so that the manager can determine that the communication data packet is an illegal data packet. In addition, if the manager determines the communication data packet is an illegal data packet according to the identification information of each target control device and the threat coefficient for each control device, the network identifiable information extracted from the communication data packet is stored in the distrusted asset database so that the service or application traffic can be measured for malicious data packets detected subsequently.

Alternatively, after the communication data packet is determined to be a malicious data packet, the severity of the corresponding event of the communication data packet is detected. If the corresponding event of the communication data packet is severe, security policies are examined to determine whether the firewalls permit the communication data packet to pass, avoiding the communication data packet from causing heavy destructions to industrial control systems and the OT network.

As shown in <FIG>, an industrial control system security analysis apparatus provided by one embodiment of the present invention comprises:.

In the embodiments of the present invention, the data acquisition module <NUM> can be configured to execute step <NUM> in the embodiment of the above-mentioned method, the information extraction module <NUM> can be configured to execute step <NUM> in the embodiment of the above-mentioned method, the determination module <NUM> can be configured to execute step <NUM> in the embodiment of the above-mentioned method, the first analysis module <NUM> can be configured to execute step <NUM> in the embodiment of the above-mentioned method, the policy acquisition module <NUM> can be configured to execute step <NUM> in the embodiment of the above-mentioned method, and the second analysis module <NUM> can be used to execute step <NUM> in the embodiment of the above-mentioned method.

Alternatively, on the basis of the industrial control system security analysis apparatus shown in <FIG>, as shown in <FIG>, the determination module <NUM> comprises:.

Alternatively, on the basis of the industrial control system security analysis apparatus shown in <FIG>, as shown in <FIG>, the policy acquisition module <NUM> comprises:.

Alternatively, on the basis of the industrial control system security analysis apparatus shown in <FIG>, as shown in <FIG>, the second analysis module <NUM> comprises:.

In the embodiments of the present invention, the first calculation unit <NUM> can be configured to execute step <NUM> in the embodiment of the above-mentioned method, the second calculation unit <NUM> can be configured to execute step <NUM> in the embodiment of the above-mentioned method, the third calculation unit <NUM> can be configured to execute step <NUM> in the embodiment of the above-mentioned method, and the fourth calculation unit <NUM> can be configured to execute step <NUM> in the embodiment of the above-mentioned method.

Alternatively, on the basis of the industrial control system security analysis apparatus shown in any of <FIG>, as shown in <FIG>, the industrial control system security analysis apparatus further comprises:.

In the embodiments of the present invention, the device screening device <NUM> can be configured to execute step <NUM> in the embodiment of the above-mentioned method, the coefficient calculation module <NUM> can be configured to execute step <NUM> in the embodiment of the above-mentioned method, the information sending module <NUM> can be configured to execute step <NUM> in the embodiment of the above-mentioned method, and the policy optimization module <NUM> can be configured to execute step <NUM> in the embodiment of the above-mentioned method.

As shown in <FIG>, an industrial control system security analysis apparatus provided by one embodiment of the present invention comprises at least one memory <NUM> and at least one processor <NUM>, wherein.

The present invention further provides a computer-readable medium, which stores instructions allowing a computer to execute the industrial control system security analysis method in this document. Specifically, a system or device equipped with a storage medium can be provided. Software program codes which can realize the function in any of above-mentioned embodiments are stored in the storage medium and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or device can read and execute the program codes stored in the storage medium.

In this case, program codes read from the storage medium themselves can realize the function in any of the above-mentioned embodiments. Therefore, program codes and the storage medium where program codes are stored constitute a part of the present invention.

Embodiments of the storage medium configured to provide program codes include a floppy disk, hard disk, magnetooptical disk, compact disk (for example, compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM)), compact disk - recordable (CD-R), compact disk - rewritable (CD-RW), digital video disk - read only memory (DVD-ROM), digital versatile disk - random access memory (DVD-RAM), digital versatile disk plus rewritable (DVD+RW), magnetic tape, non-volatile memory card, and read-only memory (ROM). Alternatively, the program codes may be downloaded from a server computer over a communication network.

In addition, it should be understood that the function of any of the above-mentioned embodiments can be realized not only by executing the program codes read out by a computer, but also by allowing the operating system running on the computer to complete a part or all of practical operations through program code based instructions.

In addition, it may be understood that the program codes read out from a storage medium are written into the storage in the expansion board in a computer or are written into a storage in an expansion unit connected to the computer, and then the instructions based on program codes allow the CPU installed on the expansion board or expansion unit to execute a part or all of practical operations to realize the function of any of the above-mentioned embodiments.

It should be noted that not all steps or modules in the above-mentioned flowcharts and system structure diagrams are required, and some steps or modules can be omitted, depending on the actual requirements. The execution sequence of the steps is not fixed and may be adjusted as required. The system structures described in the above-mentioned embodiments can be physical structures or logical structures. That is to say, some modules may be realized by a physical entity, or some modules may be realized by a plurality of physical entities or may jointly be realized by some components in a plurality of self-contained devices.

In the above-mentioned embodiments, hardware units can mechanically or electrically be realized. For example, a hardware unit can comprise a permanent dedicated circuit or logic (for example, special processor, FPGA, or ASIC) to complete the corresponding operations. A hardware unit may further comprise a programmable logic or circuit (for example, a general processor or other programmable processor) and may complete the corresponding operations through temporary software setting. The specific implementation mode (mechanical mode, or dedicated permanent circuit, or circuit which is temporarily set) can be determined on the basis of consideration of cost and time.

Claim 1:
An industrial control system security analysis method, comprising:
collecting a communication data packet from a first industrial control system, wherein an Operational Technology, OT, network comprises the first industrial control system and at least one second industrial control system connected with the first industrial control system and the communication data packet is interactive data transmitted between control devices in the first industrial control system;
extracting network identifiable information from the communication data packet, wherein the network identifiable information is configured to identify at least one of a communication object, a communication rule and a communication content;
determining whether the network identifiable information is located in a pre-created event database;
if the network identifiable information is located in the event database, performing the following:
determining that the communication data packet is a malicious data packet;
acquiring security policies of the first industrial control system and each of the second industrial control system in the OT network, wherein the security policies are configured to represent the rules for processing a malicious data packet;
determining a threat coefficient of the communication data packet for each of the second industrial control system according to the network identifiable information and each of the security policies, wherein the threat coefficient is configured to represent a degree of threat of the communication data packet to the corresponding second industrial control system.