Secure Resource Allocation Protocol (SecRAP) for Time-Sensitive Networking
Lukas Osswald, Steffen Lindner, Lukas Bechtel, Tobias Heer, Michael Menth · 2024
The convergence of operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) networks through Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) promises enhanced efficiency and new use cases in industrial settings. However, ensuring security in this shared infrastructure is crucial to prevent potential attacks that could compromise Quality of Service (QoS) of real-time streams and pose risks to operations and safety. This paper focuses on auditing the security of the Resource Allocation Protocol (RAP), a distributed QoS signaling protocol for TSN. We analyze the vulnerability of RAP to attacks during admission control, where end stations request network resources for data transmission. We leverage the Dolev-Yao attacker model to assess the security properties of RAP in both distributed hop-by-hop admission control and hybrid admission control with a central controller. We introduce novel security extensions to RAP, called Secure Resource Allocation Protocol (SecRAP), to mitigate the identified attack vectors. Finally, we present a prototype and discuss the security properties of SecRAP.