Docentship lecture by André Teixeira: "Security in Control Systems"

The Department of Information Technology hereby invites all interested to a docentship lecture in the subject of Automatic Control. The lecture will be given in English.

Chairperson: professor Alexander Medvedev

Representative of the Docentship Committee: professor Nataša Sladoje

Abstract: Automatic control is a ubiquitous technology in modern societies. Example applications include radio power control in mobile phones, automatic generation control in electrical power systems, and modern continuous glucose monitoring systems to treat diabetes, among many others. Modern control systems are based on a tight integration of digital and physical parts. Sensors measure and convert physical quantities to digital data, which is then transmitted to a control unit. The control unit processes the measurements through sophisticated algorithms to monitor the system and to decide how to drive the actuators that finally interact with and steer the physical world. Society inherently relies upon and trusts that these systems operate in a safe and secure manner. Unfortunately, reports of cyber-attacks on modern control systems, such as Stuxnet in 2010, have shown their devastating consequences to the safety of these systems. It is of the utmost importance to be able to prevent and detect malicious cyberattacks against control systems and to mitigate their consequences to physical systems.

This talk gives an introduction to the topic of security in control systems, mainly from a control engineering perspective. The talk highlights key differences from related areas, such as fault tolerance and standard IT security, to motivate the need for complementary and synergetic perspectives to address security challenges in control systems.

The lecture is an obligatory teaching test for those applying for admittance as docent and it should be possible for students and others with basic academic education in the relevant field to follow it. The lecture lasts 40-45 minutes with subsequent discussion.

Welcome!