TRUSED: A Trust-Based Security Evaluation Scheme for A Distributed Control System

Distributed control systems (DCS) have revolutionized the communication process and attracted more interest due to their pervasive computing nature (cyber/physical), their monitoring capabilities and the benefits they offer. However, due to distributed communication, flexible network topologies and lack of central control, the traditional security strategies are inadequate for meeting the unique characteristics of DCS. Moreover, malicious and untrustworthy nodes pose a significant threat during the formation of a DCS network. Trust-based secure systems not only monitor and track the behavior of the nodes but also enhance the security by identifying and isolating the malicious node, which reduces the risk and increases network lifetime. In this research, we offer TRUSED, a trust-based security evaluation scheme that both, directly and indirectly, estimates each node’s level of trustworthiness, incorporating the cumulative trust concept. In addition, simulation results show that the proposed technique can effectively identify malicious nodes, determine their node’s trustworthiness rating, and improve the packet delivery ratio.