Here, we developed a method for detecting cyber security attacks aimed at spoofing the Global Positioning System (GPS) signal of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Most methods for detecting UAV anomalies indicative of an attack use machine learning or other such methods that compare normal behavior with abnormal behavior. Such approaches require large amounts of data and significant “training” time to prepare and implement the system. Instead, we consider a new approach based on other mathematical methods for detecting UAV anomalies without the need to first collect a large amount of data and describe normal behavior patterns. Doing so can simplify the process of creating an anomaly detection system, which can further facilitate easier implementation of intrusion detection systems in UAVs. This article presents issues related to ensuring the information security of UAVs. Development of the GPS spoofing detection method for UAVs is then described, based on a preliminary study that made it possible to form a mathematical apparatus for solving the problem. We then explain the necessary analysis of parameters and methods of data normalization, and the analysis of the Kullback—Leibler divergence measure needed to detect anomalies in UAV systems.

We consider how to protect Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from Global Positioning System (GPS) spoofing attacks to provide safe navigation. The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is widely used for locating drones and is by far the most popular navigation solution. This is because of the simplicity and relatively low cost of this technology, as well as the accuracy of the transmitted coordinates. Nevertheless, there are many security threats to GPS navigation. These are primarily related to the nature of the GPS signal, as an intruder can jam and spoof the GPS signal. We discuss methods of protection against this type of attack and have developed an experimental stand and conducted scenarios of attacks on a drone’s GPS system. Data from the UAV’s flight log were collected and analyzed in order to see the attack’s impact on sensor readings. From this we identify a new method for detecting UAV anomalies by analyzing changes in internal parameters of the UAV. This self-diagnosis method allows a UAV to independently assess the presence of changes in its own subsystems indicative of cyber attacks.

The data analysis subsystem of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) includes two main modules: a data acquisition module for data processing and a normalization module. One of the main features of an adaptive UAV protection system is the analysis of its cyber-physical parameters. An attack on a general-purpose computer system mainly affects the integrity, confidentiality and availability of important information. By contrast, an attack on a Cyber-Physical System (CPS), such as a UAV, affects the functionality of the system and may disrupt its operation, ultimately preventing it from fulfilling its tasks correctly. Cyber-physical parameters are the internal parameters of a system node, including the states of its computing resources, data storage, actuators and sensor system. Here, we develop a data normalization technique that additionally allows us to identify the signs of a cyber-attack. In addition, we define sets of parameters that can highlight an attack and define a new database format to support intrusion detection for UAVs. To achieve these goals, we performed an experimental study of the impact of attacks on UAV parameters and developed a software module for collecting data from UAVs, as well as a technique for normalizing and presenting data for detecting attacks on UAVs. Data analysis and the evaluation of the quality of a parameter (whether the parameter changes normally, or abrupt anomalous changes are observed) are facilitated by converting different types of data to the same format. The resulting formalized CPS model allows us to identify the nature of an attack and its potential impact on UAV subsystems. In the future, such a model could be the basis of a CPS digital twin in terms of security. The presented normalization technique supports processing raw data, as well as classifying data sets for their use in machine learning (ML) analyses in the future. The data normalization technique can also help to immediately determine the presence and signs of an attack, which allows classifying raw data automatically by dividing it into different categories. Such a technique could form the basis of an intrusion detection system for CPSs. Thus, the obtained results can be used to classify attacks, including attack detection systems based on machine learning methods, and the data normalization technique can be used as an independent method for detecting attacks.

The range of attacks implemented on wireless networks is quite wide. To avoid or reduce the likelihood of an attack, it is necessary to use various defense mechanisms. Existing protection mechanisms are not always suitable for robotic systems and may not fully provide the necessary level of security. Thus, it is necessary to develop new ways of protection, which would be specific to groups of mobile robots. In this study, we propose an analysis of the following cyber parameters: the power consumption and the residual energy, as well as an in-depth traffic analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of the attack and identify abnormal network. We realized an analysis of the behavior of robotic systems under normal conditions and determined that, by their nature, robotic systems have a static and uniform behavior. We developed an experimental stand, and also conducted a theoretical analysis to confirm our assumptions. We found that some indicators of the components of the robotic system change statically; that is, there was a little deviation from the mean. Thus, we identified a set of metrics that allow us to determine how static the operation of the robotic system and its components is. Metrics allow us to evaluate parameters such as power consumption, and incoming/outgoing/redirected/dropped network packets. The results obtained are important for creating an integrated system for detecting anomalies in robotic systems. At the same time, the robotic node can analyze these parameters independently and make calculations that do not greatly affect performance. The main idea of this paper is to define a set of metrics characterizing the static behavior of a robotic system for the further development of an anomaly detection system.