Multi-Stage Learning Framework Using Convolutional Neural Network and Decision Tree-Based Classification for Detection of DDoS Pandemic Attacks in SDN-Based SCADA Systems.

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, which play a critical role in monitoring, managing, and controlling industrial processes, face flexibility, scalability, and management difficulties arising from traditional network structures. Software-defined networking (SDN) offers a new opportunity to overcome the challenges traditional SCADA networks face, based on the concept of separating the control and data plane. Although integrating the SDN architecture into SCADA systems offers many advantages, it cannot address security concerns against cyber-attacks such as a distributed denial of service (DDoS). The fact that SDN has centralized management and programmability features causes attackers to carry out attacks that specifically target the SDN controller and data plane. If DDoS attacks against the SDN-based SCADA network are not detected and precautions are not taken, they can cause chaos and have terrible consequences. By detecting a possible DDoS attack at an early stage, security measures that can reduce the impact of the attack can be taken immediately, and the likelihood of being a direct victim of the attack decreases. This study proposes a multi-stage learning model using a 1-dimensional convolutional neural network (1D-CNN) and decision tree-based classification to detect DDoS attacks in SDN-based SCADA systems effectively. A new dataset containing various attack scenarios on a specific experimental network topology was created to be used in the training and testing phases of this model. According to the experimental results of this study, the proposed model achieved a 97.8% accuracy rate in DDoS-attack detection. The proposed multi-stage learning model shows that high-performance results can be achieved in detecting DDoS attacks against SDN-based SCADA systems.

Ensemble Learning Framework for DDoS Detection in SDN-Based SCADA Systems.

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems play a crucial role in overseeing and controlling renewable energy sources like solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal resources. Nevertheless, with the expansion of conventional SCADA network infrastructures, there arise significant challenges in managing and scaling due to increased size, complexity, and device diversity. Using Software Defined Networking (SDN) technology in traditional SCADA network infrastructure offers management, scaling and flexibility benefits. However, as the integration of SDN-based SCADA systems with modern technologies such as the Internet of Things, cloud computing, and big data analytics increases, cybersecurity becomes a major concern for these systems. Therefore, cyber-physical energy systems (CPES) should be considered together with all energy systems. One of the most dangerous types of cyber-attacks against SDN-based SCADA systems is Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. DDoS attacks disrupt the management of energy resources, causing service interruptions and increasing operational costs. Therefore, the first step to protect against DDoS attacks in SDN-based SCADA systems is to develop an effective intrusion detection system. This paper proposes a Decision Tree-based Ensemble Learning technique to detect DDoS attacks in SDN-based SCADA systems by accurately distinguishing between normal and DDoS attack traffic. For training and testing the ensemble learning models, normal and DDoS attack traffic data are obtained over a specific simulated experimental network topology. Techniques based on feature selection and hyperparameter tuning are used to optimize the performance of the decision tree ensemble models. Experimental results show that feature selection, combination of different decision tree ensemble models, and hyperparameter tuning can lead to a more accurate machine learning model with better performance detecting DDoS attacks against SDN-based SCADA systems.