Robots are going mainstream. From assistance and entertainment robots used in homes, to those working in assembly lines in industry and all the way to those deployed in medical and professional facilities. For many, robotics is called to be the next technological revolution. Yet, similar to what happened at the dawn of the computer or the mobile phone industries, there is evidence suggesting that security in robotics is being underestimated. Even though the first dead human from a robot happened back in 1979, the consequences of using these cyber-physical systems in industrial manufacturing, professional or commercial environments are still to trigger further research actions in the robotics security field. Robot security is being underestimated. To address this issue, we present the Robot Security Framework (RSF), a methodology to perform systematic security assessments in robots. We propose, adapt and develop specific terminology and provide guidelines to enable a holistic security assessment following four main layers (Physical, Network, Firmware and Application). We argue that modern robotics should regard as equally relevant internal and external communication security. Finally, we advocate against “security by obscurity”. We conclude that the field of security in robotics deserves further research efforts.
Sala: Paraninfo Universitario