DDoS Attack Detection for Cyber–Physical Systems

Dear Colleagues,

The rapid integration of information technology with physical infrastructures has given rise to cyber–physical systems (CPSs) that are now the backbone of modern industry. Applications span across smart manufacturing, intelligent transportation systems, energy grids, critical infrastructure, autonomous vehicles, and industrial automation. These systems tightly couple sensing, computation, and actuation over communication networks, enabling real-time monitoring, decision-making, and control across geographically distributed environments.

However, this tight integration also introduces systemic vulnerabilities, especially in the face of cyberattacks targeting the communication backbone of CPSs. Among these threats, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks stand out due to their destructive capability, simplicity of execution, and evolving sophistication. These attacks can flood control channels with illegitimate traffic, delay or block time-sensitive data, and cause loss of control authority, resulting in physical damage, safety hazards, and economic disruption. Even short-lived DDoS incidents can have disproportionate impacts on CPSs compared to traditional IT systems due to the stringent latency, determinism, and safety requirements inherent in control applications.

Furthermore, the heterogeneity of CPS components, the distributed architecture of modern systems, and the limited computational and energy resources of edge nodes complicate the implementation of traditional security mechanisms. Conventional intrusion detection systems often fail to meet the performance and adaptability requirements for CPSs, especially in environments subject to dynamic threats, resource constraints, and limited human intervention.

This Special Issue, published by Future Internet, seeks to address these challenges by promoting novel research and innovative engineering approaches focused on DDoS detection, mitigation, and system resilience in CPS environments. We aim to bring together contributions from control systems, communication networks, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity to explore holistic solutions that are not only effective and efficient but also deployable in real-world systems. Topics of interest for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following: lightweight detection models, adaptive and learning-based defense strategies, resilient network architectures, and secure-by-design CPS frameworks.

We welcome the submission of original research articles, reviews, and case studies that demonstrate theoretical advancements, algorithmic innovations, or system-level integrations aimed at strengthening the security and reliability of CPSs under DDoS threats. Submissions that include experimental validation, benchmarking, or real-world deployment case studies are particularly encouraged. We invite high-quality contributions that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

1. Detection and Identification

• Novel algorithms for real-time detection of DDoS attacks in network control systems;
• Lightweight deep learning and signal processing methods for anomaly detection in CPSs;
• Federated and distributed learning techniques for cross-node intrusion analysis;
• Behavior modeling and traffic profiling under adversarial network conditions;
• Intelligent filtering and pattern recognition in encrypted traffic environments.

2. Resilience and Mitigation

• Fault-tolerant control and resilient communication protocols against DDoS flooding;
• Control-aware security mechanisms to ensure safety under degraded performance;
• Adaptive controller reconfiguration, signal reconstruction, and delayed actuation recovery;
• Scheduling algorithms for reliable communication under bandwidth exhaustion;
• Codesign of security and control strategies in safety-critical applications.

3. Advanced Cybersecurity Technologies in CPSs

• Game-theoretic and control-theoretic modeling of attacker–defender dynamics;
• Blockchain-enabled distributed trust and verification mechanisms;
• Use of honeynets and decoy systems for proactive detection and deception;
• Adversarial machine learning defense and explainable AI in CPS intrusion detection;
• Quantum-resilient cryptographic protocols and secure channel design.

4. Application Domains and Validation

• Security frameworks for industrial control systems, SCADA, and IIoT platforms;
• DDoS protection in intelligent transportation systems, UAV swarms, and autonomous vehicles;
• Case studies and testbed evaluations for real-world DDoS threats;
• Simulation frameworks and benchmark datasets for reproducible CPS security research;
• Cyber incident response strategies and forensic analysis in CPS contexts.

We particularly welcome application-driven contributions that demonstrate solutions in real-world systems, including smart cities, healthcare devices, energy grids, and critical public infrastructure. This Special Issue also serves as a platform for discussing regulatory implications, risk management, and emerging trends in CPS security.

Dr. Xiao Cai
Dr. Jinglei Tan
Dr. Shiyu Dong
Prof. Dr. Yanbin Sun
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Future Internet is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• DDoS attack detection
• cyber–physical systems security
• network control systems
• intrusion detection in cyber–physical systems
• real-time anomaly detection
• resilient control architectures
• machine learning for cybersecurity
• federated learning and distributed defense
• lightweight AI algorithms
• secure SCADA and industrial systems
• reinforcement learning for attack mitigation
• AI-driven network security
• secure industrial IoT (IIoT)
• trustworthy control under cyberattacks
• adversarial robustness in cyber–physical systems