Research

Lead Researcher(s)

Henry Liu
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering and Research Professor, Engineering Systems, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute-Administration

Morley Z. Mao
Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, College of Engineering

Project Team

Yiheng Feng
Assistant Research Scientist, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute

Morley Mao
Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, College of Engineering

Wai Wong
Research Fellow, Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering

Project Abstract

The objective of this project is to find cybersecurity vulnerabilities in transportation infrastructure and identify a set of strategies to prevent or reduce the damage from cyberattacks. A series of recommendations to improve infrastructure cybersecurity will be developed. This project will first analyze the security of the current transportation infrastructure at the protocol level (e.g., dedicated short range communications, National Transportation Communications for Intelligent Transportation Systems) and at traffic-control-system level (e.g., traffic signal policy and operation). Then, real-world penetration tests will be conducted at the Mcity Test Facility to determine possible security vulnerabilities. Based on the testing results, consequences of security breaches will be investigated. Finally, a set of recommendations will be developed for best security practice.

Project Outcome

(1) Analysis of the current protocol and traffic-control-system security; (2) models and algorithms to detect potential cyberattacks; (3) investigation of consequences of security breaches; (4) a set of recommendations for best security practice.