Enhance the ICS Network Security Using the Whitelist-based Network Monitoring Through Protocol Analysis

Authors

  • Kyu-Seok Shim National Institute of Supercomputing and Networking Advanced KREONET Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, Daejon, Korea https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3317-7000
  • Ilkwon Sohn National Institute of Supercomputing and Networking Advanced KREONET Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, Daejon, Korea
  • Eunjoo Lee National Institute of Supercomputing and Networking Advanced KREONET Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, Daejon, Korea
  • Woojin Seok National Institute of Supercomputing and Networking Advanced KREONET Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, Daejon, Korea https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7340-9961
  • Wonhyuk Lee National Institute of Supercomputing and Networking Advanced KREONET Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, Daejon, Korea https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1571-9638

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13052/jwe1540-9589.2011

Keywords:

Network security, Protocol analysis, Traffic monitoring, ICS network, Clustering algorithm, Apriori algorithm

Abstract

In our present technological age, most manual and semi-automated tasks are being automated for efficient productivity or convenience. In particular, industrial sites are rapidly being automated to increase productivity and improve work efficiency. However, while networks are increasingly deployed as an integral part of the automation of industrial processes, there are also many resultant dangers such as security threats, malfunctions, and interruption of industrial processes. In particular, while the security of business networks is reinforced and their information is not easily accessible, intruders are now targeting industrial networks whose security is relatively poor, wherein attacks could directly lead to physical damage. Therefore, numerous studies have been conducted to counter security threats through network traffic monitoring, and to minimize physical loss through the detection of malfunctions. In the case of industrial processes, such as in nuclear facilities and petroleum facilities, thorough monitoring is required as security issues can lead to significant danger to humans and damage to property. Most network traffic in industrial facilities uses proprietary protocols for efficient data transmission, and these protocols are kept confidential because of intellectual property and security reasons. Protocol reverse engineering is a preparatory step to monitor network traffic and achieve more accurate traffic analysis. The field extraction method proposed in this study is a method for identifying the structure of proprietary protocols used in industrial sites. From the extracted fields, the structure of commands and protocols used in the industrial environment can be derived. To evaluate the feasibility of the proposed concept, an experiment was conducted using the Modbus/TCP protocol and Ethernet/IP protocol used in actual industrial sites, and an additional experiment was conducted to examine the results of the analysis of conventional protocols using the file transfer protocol.

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Author Biographies

Kyu-Seok Shim, National Institute of Supercomputing and Networking Advanced KREONET Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, Daejon, Korea

Kyu-Seok Shim is a postdoctoral researcher in Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), Daejeon, Korea. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degree in the Department of Computer and Information Science, Korea University, Korea, in 2014, 2016, and 2020, respectively. His research interests include Internet traffic classification, network management, protocol reverse engineering and quantum key distribution.

Ilkwon Sohn, National Institute of Supercomputing and Networking Advanced KREONET Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, Daejon, Korea

IlKwon Sohn is a senior researcher in Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), Daejeon, Korea. He received his B.S., and Unified M.S. & Ph.D. degree in the School of Electrical Engineering, Korea University, Korea, in 2011, and 2018, respectively. His research interests include quantum error correction, quantum key distribution, and quantum computation.

Eunjoo Lee, National Institute of Supercomputing and Networking Advanced KREONET Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, Daejon, Korea

Eunjoo Lee is a postdoctoral researcher in Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), Daejeon, Korea. She received B.S. degree in Physics from Hanyang University, Korea and Ph.D degree in Physics from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). She was a former postdoctoral researcher of quantum optics group in Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS). Her interests include fiber optics, single photon generation in telecom band, quantum optics experiment and quantum communication with single photons and continuous variables.

Woojin Seok, National Institute of Supercomputing and Networking Advanced KREONET Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, Daejon, Korea

Woojin Seok is a principal researcher in Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), Daejeon, Korea. He received his B.S. in the School of Computer Engineering, Kyungpuk University, M.S. in the school of Computer Science in UNC Chapel Hill, and Ph.D. degree in the School of Computer Engineering, Chungnam University, in 1998, 2003, and 2008, respectively. His research interests include TCP protocol, QKD network, and wireless network such as LoRa and private 5G.

Wonhyuk Lee, National Institute of Supercomputing and Networking Advanced KREONET Center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information, Daejon, Korea

Wonhyuk Lee is a senior researcher in Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), Daejeon, Korea. He received his B.S., and M.S. & Ph.D. degree in the School of Electrical, Electronical and Computer Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Korea, in 2001, 2003 and 2010, respectively. His research interests include quantum Network Management, Network Performance Enhancement, and QKD network.

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Published

2021-02-17

How to Cite

Shim, K.-S., Sohn, I., Lee, E., Seok, W., & Lee, W. (2021). Enhance the ICS Network Security Using the Whitelist-based Network Monitoring Through Protocol Analysis. Journal of Web Engineering, 20(1), 1–32. https://doi.org/10.13052/jwe1540-9589.2011

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Section

Data Science and Artificial Intelligence: Architecture, Use Cases, and Challenge