# Development of a hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) testbed for cyber-physical security in smart buildings

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.11234 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.11234/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 17 Oct 2022.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [AI Sandboxes: A Threat Model, Taxonomy, and Measurement Framework](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.18532/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

As smart buildings move towards open communication technologies, providing access to the Building Automation System (BAS) through the intranet, or even remotely through the Internet, has become a common practice. However, BAS was historically developed as a closed environment and designed with limited cyber-security considerations. Thus, smart buildings are vulnerable to cyber-attacks with the increased accessibility. This study introduces the development and capability of a Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testbed for testing and evaluating the cyber-physical security of typical BASs in smart buildings. The testbed consists of three subsystems: (1) a real-time HIL emulator simulating the behavior of a virtual building as well as the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) equipment via a dynamic simulation in Modelica; (2) a set of real HVAC controllers monitoring the virtual building operation and providing local control signals to control HVAC equipment in the HIL emulator; and (3) a BAS server along with a web-based service for users to fully access the schedule, setpoints, trends, alarms, and other control functions of the HVAC controllers remotely through the BACnet network. The server generates rule-based setpoints to local HVAC controllers. Based on these three subsystems, the HIL testbed supports attack/fault-free and attack/fault-injection experiments at various levels of the building system. The resulting test data can be used to inform the building community and support the cyber-physical security technology transfer to the building industry.