ByzRT: Intrusion Resilient Real-Time Communication and Computation in Autonomous Systems

复杂的自主实时和嵌入式系统（RTES），例如自动驾驶汽车，将越来越多地在长时间无人值守的情况下运行。由于其实时性，持续监控的局限性以及来自网络和物理攻击的威胁向量，使得这些系统容易受到攻击，并需要改进保护，例如对入侵的容忍度，特别是在面对时域攻击时，以实现这些关键系统的安全和保障。在这个项目中，我们研究了入侵容忍技术（如拜占庭容错共识（BFT））与实时通信和处理范例（如事件和时间触发抽象）之间的相互作用。迄今为止，这一领域的研究实例仅限于非常专业和受限的RTES（例如飞行控制），因此不可推广，并提供有限的安全-安全平衡。因此，协调安全范式，异步（非定时）性质，具有非安全性质的实时范例，以在通用网络上实现自治系统的安全和及时的操作和协作。ByzRT将弥合这一差距，通过调查两个重要方面：+设计创新的BFT算法，表现出实时能力的单和跨RTES操作;和+扩展形式化的方法，证明这种协议的正确性，通过纳入时间的概念。如果成功，ByzRT将为设计更安全、更可靠的关键网络物理系统做出重大贡献。

Complex autonomous real-time and embedded systems (RTES), e.g. self-driving cars, will increasingly operate unattended over extended periods of time.The limitations of continuous supervision given their real-time nature, and the threat vectors originating from combined cyber and physical attacks, make these systems vulnerable and call for improved protection, such as tolerance to intrusions, in particular in face of time-domain attacks, to achieve safety and security in such critical systems. In this project, we investigate the interplay of intrusion tolerance techniques, such as Byzantine fault-tolerant consensus (BFT), and real-time communication and processing paradigms, e.g. event- and time-triggered abstractions.To date, the examples of research in this area are confined to very specialised and constrained RTES (e.g. flight control), thus not generalizable, and providing limited safety-security balance.Hence the hardness of the problem of reconciling security paradigms, of asynchronous (non-timed) nature, with real-time paradigms, of non-secure nature, to achieve secure and timely operation and cooperation of autonomous systems, over general networks. ByzRT will bridge this gap, by investigating on two essential fronts: + devising innovative BFT algorithms exhibiting real-time capability for single- and inter-RTES operation; and + extending formal methods for proving such protocols correct, by incorporating notions of time. If successful, ByzRT will significantly contribute to the design of safer and more secure critical cyber-physical systems.