Experimental Validation of Cyber-Resilient Electrical Drive Systems via Encrypted Controller Implementation

In modern industrial applications, the implementation of protective measures for electric drive systems is paramount to maintaining system reliability. As these systems rely on networked communication among their interconnected control units, they face a significant risk of exploitation by cyber adversaries. This study investigates secure end-to-end communication within a DC motor drive system. The methodology employs a practical networked control system, implemented on a Raspberry Pi platform, which integrates a motor drive and an encrypted controller. The functionality of the encrypted controller extends beyond securing communication links to also protecting the confidentiality of its internal parameters. The experimental results confirm that encryption successfully obfuscates both the internal controller parameters and the transmitted signals. Moreover, the experimentally evaluated processing overhead of the encrypted controller is shown to be compatible with real-time operation.