Security Analysis of Robotic Arms used in Smart Manufacturing

Abstract

As smart manufacturing is becoming the industry standard, many production systems now face digital threats unlike any before. Systems that were once closed off are now being opened up to remote connections, often without upgrading the system’s security to handle the change to a smart manufacturing environment. One such system that is in urgent need of security enhancements is industrial robotics. With robotics, not only is proprietary production data at risk of digital theft, but now cyber attacks can interface with the physical world using the last-generation implementation of robotic systems. The purpose of this project is to explore potential vulnerabilities with industrial robotics in effort to establish a preliminary defensive strategy in the event of a cyber attack. This will be accomplished through security analysis of a robotic arm and investigation of defense strategies applicable thereafter. This robotic arm will be used for extensive penetration testing to gather attack data and ultimately be used as an experimental tool for the implementation of defensive solutions.