Report on Current Developments in Cyber-Physical Security and Adversarial Attacks

General Direction of the Field

The recent advancements in the research area of cyber-physical security and adversarial attacks reveal a significant shift towards exploring novel attack vectors and defense mechanisms in critical systems, particularly those related to autonomous vehicles and renewable energy sources. The field is increasingly focusing on cross-modality attacks, where adversaries exploit vulnerabilities across different sensor modalities to compromise system integrity. This trend underscores the growing recognition of the interconnectedness of various system components and the need for holistic security approaches.

In the realm of autonomous vehicles, the emphasis is on identifying and mitigating physical adversarial attacks on LiDAR systems. These attacks, which can range from signal injection to physical object manipulation, pose severe risks to the safety and reliability of autonomous driving. Researchers are not only cataloging existing attack types but also proposing innovative defense strategies to enhance the resilience of LiDAR-based perception systems.

Similarly, in the domain of renewable energy systems, the focus has shifted to understanding and countering electromagnetic interference (EMI) attacks on power inverters. These inverters, which are crucial for the integration of renewable energy sources into the grid, are found to be susceptible to high-frequency EMI, leading to potential Denial of Service (DoS) and physical damage. The research community is actively developing both hardware and software-based countermeasures to safeguard these critical components.

Another notable development is the exploration of Moving Target Defense (MTD) techniques in power grids. MTD aims to dynamically change the system configuration to thwart attackers by invalidating their pre-existing knowledge. This approach is gaining traction as a promising strategy to enhance the security of power grids against stealthy and persistent threats.

Overall, the field is moving towards a more integrated and dynamic approach to security, where continuous adaptation and resilience are key themes. Researchers are increasingly adopting a multi-faceted view of security, considering both the cyber and physical dimensions of systems to develop comprehensive defense strategies.

Noteworthy Papers

• PhantomLiDAR: Introduces a novel cross-modality signal injection attack on LiDAR systems, demonstrating significant real-world impact and proposing effective defense measures.
• ReThink: Reveals critical vulnerabilities in power inverters due to high-frequency EMI, providing both attack validation and practical countermeasures.
• Survey of Moving Target Defense in Power Grids: Offers a comprehensive overview of MTD techniques, highlighting their potential to revolutionize power grid security.