A Virtual Cybersecurity Department for Securing Digital Twins in Water Distribution Systems

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Homaei, Mohammadhossein, Di Bartolo, Agustin, Mogollon-Gutierrez, Oscar, Morgado, Fernando Broncano, Rodriguez, Pablo Garcia
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Homaei, Mohammadhossein
Di Bartolo, Agustin
Mogollon-Gutierrez, Oscar
Morgado, Fernando Broncano
Rodriguez, Pablo Garcia
author_facet Homaei, Mohammadhossein
Di Bartolo, Agustin
Mogollon-Gutierrez, Oscar
Morgado, Fernando Broncano
Rodriguez, Pablo Garcia
contents Digital twins (DTs) help improve real-time monitoring and decision-making in water distribution systems. However, their connectivity makes them easy targets for cyberattacks such as scanning, denial-of-service (DoS), and unauthorized access. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that manage these systems often do not have enough budget or staff to build strong cybersecurity teams. To solve this problem, we present a Virtual Cybersecurity Department (VCD), an affordable and automated framework designed for SMEs. The VCD uses open-source tools like Zabbix for real-time monitoring, Suricata for network intrusion detection, Fail2Ban to block repeated login attempts, and simple firewall settings. To improve threat detection, we also add a machine-learning-based IDS trained on the OD-IDS2022 dataset using an improved ensemble model. This model detects cyber threats such as brute-force attacks, remote code execution (RCE), and network flooding, with 92\% accuracy and fewer false alarms. Our solution gives SMEs a practical and efficient way to secure water systems using low-cost and easy-to-manage tools.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_20266
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Virtual Cybersecurity Department for Securing Digital Twins in Water Distribution Systems
Homaei, Mohammadhossein
Di Bartolo, Agustin
Mogollon-Gutierrez, Oscar
Morgado, Fernando Broncano
Rodriguez, Pablo Garcia
Cryptography and Security
Machine Learning
Networking and Internet Architecture
Digital twins (DTs) help improve real-time monitoring and decision-making in water distribution systems. However, their connectivity makes them easy targets for cyberattacks such as scanning, denial-of-service (DoS), and unauthorized access. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that manage these systems often do not have enough budget or staff to build strong cybersecurity teams. To solve this problem, we present a Virtual Cybersecurity Department (VCD), an affordable and automated framework designed for SMEs. The VCD uses open-source tools like Zabbix for real-time monitoring, Suricata for network intrusion detection, Fail2Ban to block repeated login attempts, and simple firewall settings. To improve threat detection, we also add a machine-learning-based IDS trained on the OD-IDS2022 dataset using an improved ensemble model. This model detects cyber threats such as brute-force attacks, remote code execution (RCE), and network flooding, with 92\% accuracy and fewer false alarms. Our solution gives SMEs a practical and efficient way to secure water systems using low-cost and easy-to-manage tools.
title A Virtual Cybersecurity Department for Securing Digital Twins in Water Distribution Systems
topic Cryptography and Security
Machine Learning
Networking and Internet Architecture
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.20266