Enhanced Modelling and Analysis of Cyber‐Physical System Security Against DoS Attacks Using Generalised Stochastic Petri Nets

This paper proposes a new framework for the analysis of cyber‐physical system security against denial‐of‐service (DoS) attacks using generalised stochastic Petri nets. Although cyber‐physical systems, through increased integration of computational and physical processes, offer great advantages, they are subject to cyber threats that can disrupt their critical operations. Among them, DoS attacks, which overload communication channels and prohibit the exchange of data between system components, are a major concern. Traditional methods of security assessment are inadequate given the unique complexities of cyber‐physical system architectures. This research presents a generalised stochastic Petri net‐based model able to capture the dynamics of a cyber‐physical system under attack scenarios for the comprehensive analysis of system vulnerabilities and defencive mechanisms. The model incorporates immediate and timed transitions, thus mapping both continuous operations of the cyber‐physical system and the discrete‐event nature of cyber threats. Simulation experiments validate the effectiveness of the model in demonstrating how DoS attacks can degrade system performance. The results reflect the need for improved methodologies for security testing in order to enhance the resilience of cyber‐physical systems, particularly in safety‐critical applications.