The Industry 4.0 revolution envisions fully interconnected scenarios in the manufacturing industry to improve the efficiency, quality, and performance of the manufacturing processes. In parallel, the consolidation of 5G technology is providing substantial advances in the world of communication and information technologies. Furthermore, 5G also presents itself as a key enabler to fulfill Industry 4.0 requirements. In this article, the authors first propose a 5G-enabled architecture for Industry 4.0. Smart Networks for Industry (SN4I) is introduced, an experimental facility based on two 5G key-enabling technologies—Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN)—which connects the University of the Basque Country’s Aeronautics Advanced Manufacturing Center and Faculty of Engineering in Bilbao. Then, the authors present the deployment of a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) with strong access control mechanisms into such architecture, enabling secure and flexible Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) applications. Additionally, the authors demonstrate the implementation of a use case consisting in the monitoring of a broaching process that makes use of machine tools located in the manufacturing center, and of services from the proposed architecture. The authors finally highlight the benefits achieved regarding flexibility, efficiency, and security within the presented scenario and to the manufacturing industry overall. View Full-Text

Industry 4.0 uses a subset of the IoT, called Industrial IoT (IIoT) to achieve connectivity, interoperability and decentralisation. The deployment of industrial networks rarely considers security by design, but this becomes imperative in smart manufacturing as connectivity increases. The combination of OT and IT infrastructures in Industry 4.0 adds new security threats beyond those of traditional industrial networks. Defence-in-Depth (DiD) strategies tackle the complexity of this problem by providing multiple defence layers, each of these focusing on a particular set of threats. Additionally, the severe requirements of IIoT networks demand lightweight encryption algorithms. Nevertheless, these ciphers must provide E2E (End-to-End) security, as data pass through intermediate entities, or middleboxes, before reaching its destination. If compromised, middleboxes could expose vulnerable information to potential attackers if it is not encrypted throughout this path. This paper presents an analysis of the most relevant security strategies in Industry 4.0, focusing primarily on DiD. With these in mind, it proposes a combination of DiD, a lightweight E2E encryption algorithm called Attribute-Based-Encryption (ABE) and object security (i.e., OSCORE) to get a full E2E security approach. This analysis is a critical first step to develop more complex and lightweight security frameworks suitable for Industry 4.0.

Although the risk assessment discipline has been studied from long ago as a means to support security investment decision-making, no holistic approach exists to continuously and quantitatively analyze cyber risks in scenarios where attacks and defenses may target different parts of Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart grid systems. In this paper, we propose a comprehensive methodology that enables informed decisions on security protection for smart grid systems by the continuous assessment of cyber risks. The solution is based on the use of attack defense trees modelled on the system and computation of the proposed risk attributes that enables an assessment of the system risks by propagating the risk attributes in the tree nodes. The method allows system risk sensitivity analyses to be performed with respect to different attack and defense scenarios, and optimizes security strategies with respect to risk minimization. The methodology proposes the use of standard security and privacy defense taxonomies from internationally recognized security control families, such as the NIST SP 800-53, which facilitates security certifications. Finally, the paper describes the validation of the methodology carried out in a real smart building energy efficiency application that combines multiple components deployed in cloud and IoT resources. The scenario demonstrates the feasibility of the method to not only perform initial quantitative estimations of system risks but also to continuously keep the risk assessment up to date according to the system conditions during operation.

For the time being, companies and organisations are being forced to compete in utterly complex and globalised environments, facing massive natural, economic, and technological challenges on a daily basis. Addressing these challenges would be impossible without a proper approach that helps them identify, measure, understand, and control the performance of their organisations. Lean principles and techniques rise as a solution. This paper justifies and proposes the use of lean principles and techniques to identify key performance indicators (KPIs) in project-based organisations based on their organisational and operational needs. The research focuses mainly on the identification and categorisation of KPIs through a qualitative approach, based on systematic literature review (SLR) of performance indicators, project management, and project success. As a case study, an analysis of relevant information of an R&D and innovation project-based organisation, such as quality manuals, a benchmarking process, internal studies, and surveys regarding what success means for different kinds of stakeholders and for the organisation itself was conducted. As a result, this research is of a high value for project-based organisations, especially those that are not apprised of how to correctly formulate a series of KPIs, or whose path to it is still not clear. View Full-Text

With the advent of 5G technologies, vertical markets have been placed at the forefront, as fundamental drivers and adopters of technical developments and new business models. Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (SUAVs) are gaining traction in multiple vertical sectors, as key assets to generate, process, and distribute relevant information for the provision of value-added services. However, the enormous potential of SUAVs to support a flexible, rapid, and cost-effective deployment of vertical applications is still to be exploited. In this paper, we leverage our prior work on Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and SUAVs to design and build a multi-site experimentation testbed based on open-source technologies. The goal of this testbed is to explore synergies among NFV, SUAVs, and vertical services, following a practical approach primarily governed by experimentation. To verify our testbed design, we realized a reference use case where a number of SUAVs, cloud infrastructures, and communication protocols are used to provide a multi-site vertical service. Our experimentation results suggest the potential of NFV and SUAVs to flexibly support vertical services. The lessons learned have served to identify missing elements in our NFV platform, as well as challenging aspects for potential improvement. These include the development of specific mechanisms to limit processing load and delays of service deployment operations.