A simulation-based platform for assessing the impact of cyber-threats on smart manufacturing systems

Smart manufacturing systems can be considered within the Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) domain, where currently, there is a major concern regarding cybersecurity. This paper introduces a simulation-based model to assess the repercussions on manufacturing systems’ performance under the potential presence of cyber-threats. The applicability of the assessment model has been validated through the implementation of a case study for the manufacturing sector. Different scenarios have been developed in order to apply an experimental design analysis, where several factors on the model will permit to elucidate the combination of controllable defense policies and uncontrollable security-based parameters that will reduce the negative impact on the manufacturing system’s performance. Results have revealed that the impact of cyber-attacks on manufacturing physical operations can be reduced by different defense policies such as increasing capacity of resources at the shop floor and applying more conservative reorder policies for certain situations. Levels among recovery times did not yield the same magnitude of effect. As far as the uncontrollable factors for companies are concerned, it was revealed that the mean time between attacks and the number of potential threat sources have a significant influence on the performance metrics of the system.