Security analysis of WirelessHART communication scheme

Lyes Bayou (1, 2) , David Espes (3) , Nora Cuppens (1, 2) , Frédéric Cuppens (1, 2)

1 Lab-STICC_TB_CID_SFIIS
2 LUSSI - Département Logique des Usages, Sciences sociales et Sciences de l'Information
3 UBO - Université de Brest

Communication security is a major concern in industrial process management. Indeed, in addition to real-time requirements, it is very important to ensure that sensing data sent by field sensors are not altered or modified during their transmission. This is more true in Wireless Sensor Networks where communication can be hijacked and false data injected. Therefore wireless communication protocols include several security mechanisms to ensure data confidentiality and integrity. In this paper, we present an attack against WirelessHART, the leading wireless communication protocol in industrial environment. We show that an insider attacker can bypass security mechanisms and inject false commands in the network. Such attacks can have harmful economical consequences or even more can threaten human lives. We propose also some solutions that can be applied for detecting and mitigating this kind of attacks.

Domaines: Réseaux et télécommunications [cs.NI]

Lyes Bayou, David Espes, Nora Cuppens, Frédéric Cuppens. Security analysis of WirelessHART communication scheme. 9th International Symposium on Foundations & Practice of Security (FPS'2016), Oct 2016, Québec City, Canada. ⟨hal-01411385⟩