Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is one of the RF-based technologies that has been utilizing Received Signal Strength Indicators (RSSI) in indoor position location systems (IPS) for decades. Its recent signal stability and propagation distance improvement inspired us to conduct this project. Beacons and scanners used two Bluetooth specifications, BLE 5.0 and 4.2, for experimentations. The measurement paradigm consisted of three segments, RSSI–distance conversion, multi-beacon in-plane, and diverse directional measurement. The analysis methods applied to process the data for precise positioning included the Signal propagation model, Trilateration, Modification coefficient, and Kalman filter. As the experiment results showed, the positioning accuracy could reach 10 cm when the beacons and scanners were at the same horizontal plane in a less-noisy environment. Nevertheless, the positioning accuracy dropped to a meter-scale accuracy when the measurements were executed in a three-dimensional configuration and complex environment. According to the analysis results, the BLE wireless signal strength is susceptible to interference in the manufacturing environment but still workable on certain occasions. In addition, the Bluetooth 5.0 specifications seem more promising in bringing brightness to RTLS applications in the future, due to its higher signal stability and better performance in lower interference environments.

5G networks require dynamic network monitoring and advanced security solutions. This work performs the essential steps to implement a basic 5G digital twin (DT) in a warehouse scenario. This study provides a paradigm of end-to-end connection and encryption to internet of things (IoT) devices. Network function virtualization (NFV) technologies are crucial to connecting and encrypting IoT devices. Innovative logistical scenarios are undergoing constant changes in logistics, and higher deployment of IoT devices in logistic scenarios, such as warehouses, demands better communication capabilities. The simulation tools enable digital twin network implementation in planning. Altair Feko (WinProp) simulates the radio behavior of a typical warehouse framework. The radio behavior can be exported as a radio simulation dataset file. This dataset file represents the virtual network’s payload. GNS3, an open-source network simulator, performs data payload transmission among clients to servers using custom NFV components. By transmitting data from client to server, we achieved end-to-end communication. Additionally, custom NFV components enable advanced encryption standard (AES) adoption. In summary, this work analyzes the round-trip time (RTT) and throughput of the payload data packages, in which two data packages, encrypted and non-encrypted, are observed.

Conveyor belts are vital components in production lines driven by Programming Logic Controllers (PLC). Sensors and actuators control with PLCs represents a critical point in the industrial process. Attacks targeting the exploitation of PLC vulnerabilities have been on the rise recently. This study aims to analyze the vulnerabilities of a typical PLC setup and constructs a PLC testbed environment to represent the cyber attack target. The PLC testbed represents an automatic conveyor belt for sorting materials. Two Mitsubishi FX5U-32M PLCs control the conveyor motor and the sorting mechanism, respectively. The network communication adapted Modbus protocol emulated with ModbusPal and components connected via RS-485, Ethernet, and WiFi. In this study, Ethernet is the main network connection. The main components of the network, attacker, and target, host different Operating Systems. On the attacker side, the selected OS is Kali 2022.3. In contrast, the target side host Ubuntu 22.04. The attacker runs Nmap and Metasploit to exploit the target Modbus registers. The selected attack method for this study is Packet Reply. Packet replies can halt operations sending custom data packets to the PLC. This study provides a basic step-by-step offensive strategy targeting register modification.

Programming logic controllers (PLCs) are vital components for conveyors in production lines, and the sensors and actuators controlled underneath the PLCs represent critical points in the manufacturing process. Attacks targeting the exploitation of PLC vulnerabilities have been on the rise recently. In this study, a PLC test platform aims to analyze the vulnerabilities of a typical industrial setup and perform cyberattack exercises to review the system cybersecurity challenges. The PLC test platform is a sorting machine consisting of an automatic conveyor belt, two Mitsubishi FX5U-32M PLCs, and accessories for material sorting, and Modbus is the selected protocol for data communication. The O.S. on the attacker is Kali ver. 2022.3, runs Nmap and Metasploit to exploit the target Modbus registers. On the other hand, the target host runs the O.S., Ubuntu 22.04 in the cyberattack exercises. The selected attack method for this study is packet reply which can halt operations sending custom data packets to the PLC. In summary, this study provides a basic step-by-step offensive strategy targeting register modification, and the testbed represents a typical industrial environment and its vulnerabilities against cyberattacks with common open-source tools.