Authors: Andreas Finkenzeller, Oliver Butowski, Emanuel Regnath, Mohammad Hamad, Sebastian Steinhorst

Published on: January 19, 2024

Impact Score: 8.05

Arxiv code: Arxiv:2401.10664

Summary

• What is new: Introduces PTPsec, a secure version of the Precision Time Protocol to counteract delay attacks using cyclic path asymmetry measurements over redundant paths.
• Why this is important: The Precision Time Protocol is vulnerable to time delay attacks, posing significant threats especially to critical infrastructures like Smart Grids and 5G networks.
• What the research proposes: A method to detect and counteract delay attacks against PTP by utilizing redundant path measurements to reveal and mitigate clock divergence caused by these attacks.
• Results: The proposed PTPsec protocol reliably detected and mitigated all tested delay attack scenarios with minimal detection time on a hardware testbed.

Technical Details

Technological frameworks used: IEEE 1588-2019 for PTP, implemented in PTPsec

Models used: Cyclic path asymmetry measurements, redundant path detection and utilization

Data used: Time synchronization data, including detection and mitigation metrics from hardware testbed experiments

Potential Impact

Companies and industries relying on precise time synchronization, including telecommunications (5G), energy (Smart Grids), and networking (Time-Sensitive Networking); cybersecurity solutions providers

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