arXiv subjects

Henry Beuster

Publications and source records attributed to Henry Beuster.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Residual Observability and Attack Detectability in Encrypted OPC UA Traffic

OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) encryption conceals application-layer semantics and restricts intrusion detection to residual communication structure. Although machine learning-based intrusion detection systems (IDSs) can detect attacks in encrypted OPC UA traffic, the relationship between residual structural observability and attack detectability remains insufficiently understood. This paper presents an explanatory framework combining a structural observability profile, the Structural Leakage Score (SLS), controlled within-family and cross-family comparisons, phase-specific analysis, and dimension-ablation analysis. Jensen--Shannon divergence is used to characterize transport, temporal, and protocol-lifecycle dimensions, while the SLS summarizes the residual structural magnitude. Evaluation on an industrial private 5G testbed covers four attack families with progressively reduced nominal activity. SLS generally tracks within-family recall trends but does not reproduce cross-family detectability ordering. Interpreting these mismatches also requires temporal prevalence, inter-burst persistence, predictive utility, unique contribution, and redundancy. The framework complements conventional IDS metrics by relating detection outcomes to the magnitude, temporal distribution, and predictive role of observable structural evidence.

cs.CR↗

arXiv2026

Converging Safety and Security: IO-Link Wireless and OPC UA over 5G under prEN 50742

The integration of wireless communication technologies in industrial automation offers greater flexibility, but also exposes safety systems to a broader threat vector. Emerging regulations, such as the draft standard prEN 50742, mandate the convergence of functional safety and cybersecurity by requiring cryptographic security mechanisms directly in safety-critical communication. This paper presents an empirical evaluation of this safety-security convergence across a complete control chain, spanning from an IO-Link Wireless Safety device to a PLC via an OPC UA backbone. We measure the latencies and jitter of different Safety-Related Security Levels under prEN 50742 over Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6, and private 5G. Our results reveal that while cryptographic execution time is negligible, the resulting frame payload expansion severely restricts wireless fieldbus capacity, reducing the maximum number of devices per IO-Link Wireless track from 8 to 2. Furthermore, we demonstrate that, despite higher average latency, a private 5G provides sufficiently deterministic latency characteristics to preserve functional safety watchdog margins, unlike unlicensed Wi-Fi 6.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2026

Impact of Benign Connectivity Variations on Intrusion Detection for Encrypted OPC UA Traffic in Industrial Private 5G Networks

Machine learning (ML)-based intrusion detection systems (IDSs) are increasingly used to monitor encrypted industrial communication. However, their behavior under realistic private 5G operating conditions remains insufficiently understood. This paper investigates the impact of benign connectivity variations on ML-based IDSs for encrypted Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture (OPC UA) traffic in industrial private 5G networks. Experimental results show that legitimate connectivity events can noticeably increase false positive activity despite the absence of attacks. Furthermore, elevated IDS anomaly scores frequently coincide with periods of control-plane (CP) activity associated with these events. The findings highlight the importance of considering CP context when interpreting IDS outputs in industrial private 5G environments.

cs.CR↗

arXiv2026

An Experimental Study of Machine Learning-Based Intrusion Detection for OPC UA over Industrial Private 5G Networks

Industrial deployments increasingly rely on Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture (OPC UA) as a secure and platform-independent communication protocol, while private Fifth Generation (5G) networks provide low-latency and high-reliability connectivity for modern automation systems. However, their combination introduces new attack surfaces and traffic characteristics that remain insufficiently understood, particularly with respect to machine learning-based intrusion detection systems (ML-based IDS). This paper presents an experimental study on detecting cyberattacks against OPC UA applications operating over an operational private 5G network. Multiple attack scenarios are executed, and OPC UA traffic is captured and enriched with statistical flow-, packet-, and protocol-aware features. Several supervised ML models are trained and evaluated to distinguish benign and malicious traffic. The results demonstrate that the proposed ML-based IDS achieves high detection performance for a representative set of OPC UA-specific attack scenarios over an operational private 5G network.

cs.CR↗

arXiv2025

OPC UA for IO-Link Wireless in a Cyber Physical Finite Element Sensor Network for Shape Measurement

This paper presents the integration of OPC UA as a communication protocol in a wireless sensor network and the associated companion specifications as a semantic template for an information model. The Cyber Physical Finite Element Sensor Network (CPFEN ) for Shape Measurements, a distributed wireless system, uses IO-Link Wireless for data transmission at the sensor level, OPC UA provides a unified interface for data access, configuration, monitoring, and calibration tailored to the needs of the CPFEN for all level above. This opens up additional possibilities, such as integrated quality assurance or creating a digital twin, while improving scalability.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2024

Measurements of the Safety Function Response Time on a Private 5G and IO-Link Wireless Testbed

In the past few years, there has been a growing significance of interactions between human workers and automated systems throughout the factory floor. Wherever static or mobile robots, such as automated guided vehicles, operate autonomously, a protected environment for personnel and machines must be provided by, e.g., safe, deterministic and low-latency technologies. Another trend in this area is the increased use of wireless communication, offering a high flexibility, modularity, and reduced installation and maintenance efforts. This work presents a testbed implementation that integrates a wireless framework, employing IO-Link Wireless (IOLW) and a private 5G cellular network, to orchestrate a complete example process from sensors and actuators up into the edge, represented by a programmable logic controller (PLC). Latency assessments identify the systems cycle time as well as opportunities for improvement. A worst-case estimation shows the attainable safety function response time for practical applications in the context of functional safety.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2024

Design and Development of a Roaming Wireless Safety Emergency Stop

Modern manufacturing is characterized by a high degree of automation, with autonomous systems also frequently being used. In such environments human intervention in the event of malfunctions or maintenance becomes a rare but also necessary task. When human workers are no longer an integral part of the production process, but only intervene when necessary, e.g., in the case of unexpected machine behavior, appropriate safety solutions will become even more important. This work describes a wireless communication system enabling a flexible and safe emergency stop function for multiple automation cells. A portable emergency stop switch allows seamless transition between different wireless cells, ensuring functional safety. The communication protocol combines IO-Link Wireless features with the safety requirements already implemented in IO-Link Safety. Security requirements are fulfilled through encryption and authentication. The IO-Link Wireless roaming functionality is used to extend the system across several manufacturing cells. An experimental setup confirms the suitability of the system for various applications. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the handover mechanism and evaluate the potential of the system to improve flexibility, availability and security in dynamic production environments. Future extensions could include the use of AI based evaluation of the radio signals for an intelligent cell handover.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2022

Testbed for Functional Safety-Relevant Wireless Communication Based on IO-Link Wireless and 5G

In the field of industrial production automation, wireless networks support highly flexible manufacturing processes and enable technologies to set-up new production chains and future software businesses. The IO-Link Wireless (IOLW) protocol is an already established energy-efficient and cost-effective communication standard for smart sensor devices on the industrial shop floor, whereas the mobile communication standard 5G will be mainly applied for medium and long-range wireless communication applications promising low latency times and high reliability. Therefore, 5G with the coming enhancement of deterministic ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (uRLLC) is combined with the robustness and low-latency performance characteristics of IO-Link Wireless. Features of both technologies are highly beneficial to realize even highly demanding safety-related applications. The presented testbed shall qualify wireless functional safety communication with respect to its Residual Error Probability (REP) and quantify the Probability of Failure per Hour (PFH).

cs.CR↗