Digital Twin Security Threats and Countermeasures: An Introduction

Abstract

The digital twin is based on integrated technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud Computing, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence. The digital twin has become an important method of the digital manufacturing processes for the fourth industrial revolution. The digital twin is driven by increased intelligence, digitization, and reliability of smart manufacturing assets. It has potential usage areas such as construction, smart cities, and healthcare. It could be used to increase the overall performance of the potential systems and to support the physical world. Although extensive benefits are recognized, the security risks for using the digital twin have yet to be explored. The physical world of various nodes communicates with the digital twin. The digital twins will also communicate with each other in the near future. This study investigates the risks and threats which target the components of digital twin, machine learning processes, and data communication. Potential countermeasures and also future work is given. © 2021 IEEE.