Critical-information-based attack-defense strategy for nonlinear systems: an encoding-decoding scheme

This paper investigated both attack design and defense framework for a class of nonlinear cyber-physical systems. Firstly, a novel critical-information-based attack policy is developed from the attackers' angle, resulting in severe destructiveness by targeting crucial packers evaluated by the proposed importance standard. Subsequently, it is proven theoretically that there are positive correlation among attack parameters, attack success probability, and system performance. Secondly, from a security defender's perspective, a security protection strategy based on an encoding-decoding mechanism is proposed, founded on a thorough understanding of the attack mechanism. This approach aims to mislead attackers by preventing them from obtaining correct data packets, thereby leading to incorrect attack judgments, and ultimately enhancing system estimation performance through secure data transmission. Finally, two simulation experiments verify the effectiveness of the proposed critical-information-based attack strategy and the encoding-decoding mechanism.