Cyber-attacks are rapidly becoming a major concern worldwide. It has become more prevalent since the introduction of Industry 4.0 principles; the Digital twin is a novel technology that addresses a wide range of worldwide technical issues that affect a variety of industries. This study was conducted to identify solutions to the cybersecurity and data protection challenges that exist against Industrial Control Systems (ICS) with the use of emerging technology of digital twins with a main focus on the production and manufacturing industry. This study also looked into several ways of applying digital twins and the key reasons for ICS becoming vulnerable to cyber threats.
The study was conducted as a systematic review and used the rapid review methods considering the limitations of the study. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were used to conduct the systematic review by adopting the Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome (PICO) method to formulate research questions and search strategy. Inclusion and exclusion criteria led to the selection of papers primarily through Google Scholar. Covidence software was used to select and screen the papers, and citation tracking was also used to add some papers. To analyse and present the results, a thematic analysis process was used.
The findings of this study mainly suggest that the traditional Information Technology (IT) methods are not enough to provide security for ICS. Security testing can be done more efficiently by using digital twins, which can be applied to an asset in different phases of its life cycle in different ways. ICS becoming more vulnerable to cyber threats due to their software vulnerabilities and outdated technologies.
As an outcome, it can be concluded that digital twins have opened up many opportunities in the area of cybersecurity for ICS, although this novel technology is still in the process of being developed.
These findings are important for cyber security researchers, cybersecurity employers, employers working related to ICS, employers frequently get affected by cyber-attacks, government bodies, and many others. From a researcher’s perspective, information from this study can be used in further studies relevant to various subject areas including cybersecurity.
Further research opportunities are provided by the gaps found in this study, such as the synchronization issue and other cybersecurity flaws relevant to ICS.
