NISTInternalReportNISTIR8356

SecurityandTrustConsiderationsforDigitalTwinTechnology

JeffreyVoasPeterMell

PhillipLaplanteVartanPiroumian

Thispublicationisavailablefreeofchargefrom:

/10.6028/NIST.IR.8356

NISTInternalReportNISTIR8356

SecurityandTrustConsiderationsforDigitalTwinTechnology

JeffreyVoas PeterMellPhillipLaplante

ComputerSecurityDivisionInformationTechnologyLaboratory

VartanPiroumianIndependentConsultant

Thispublicationisavailablefreeofchargefrom:

/10.6028/NIST.IR.8356

February2025

U.S.DepartmentofCommerce

JeremyPelter,ActingSecretaryofCommerce

NationalInstituteofStandardsandTechnology

CraigBurkhardt,ActingUnderSecretaryofCommerceforStandardsandTechnologyandActingNISTDirector

NISTIR8356

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Abstract

Digitaltwintechnologyenablesthecreationofelectronicrepresentationsofreal-worldentitiesandtheabilitytoviewthestatesandtransitionsbetweenstatesoftheseentities.Thisreport

discussestheconceptandpurposeofdigitaltwintechnologyanddescribesitscharacteristics,features,functions,andexpectedoperationaluses.Thisreportalsodiscussesbothtraditionalandnovelcybersecuritychallengespresentedbydigitaltwintechnologyaswellastrust

considerationsinthecontextofexistingNISTguidanceanddocuments.

Keywords

computercybersecurity;control;digitaltwintechnology;instrumentation;real-timecommand;real-timemonitoring;simulation;standards;testing;trust;usecasescenarios.

ReportsonComputerSystemsTechnology

TheInformationTechnologyLaboratory(ITL)attheNationalInstituteofStandardsand

Technology(NIST)promotestheU.S.economyandpublicwelfarebyprovidingtechnical

leadershipfortheNation’smeasurementandstandardsinfrastructure.ITLdevelopstests,testmethods,referencedata,proofofconceptimplementations,andtechnicalanalysestoadvancethedevelopmentandproductiveuseofinformationtechnology.ITL’sresponsibilitiesinclude

thedevelopmentofmanagement,administrative,technical,andphysicalstandardsand

guidelinesforthecost-effectivesecurityandprivacyofotherthannationalsecurity-relatedinformationinfederalinformationsystems.

Audience

Thispublicationisintendedforanyonewhowantstounderstandtheunderlyingtechnologyandenvisionedcapabilitiesofdigitaltwintechnology.ItisparticularlyapplicabletoStandardsDevelopingOrganizations(SDOs)andimplementersofdigitaltwintechnology.

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PatentDisclosureNotice

NOTICE:ITLhasrequestedthatholdersofpatentclaimswhoseusemayberequiredfor

compliancewiththeguidanceorrequirementsofthispublicationdisclosesuchpatentclaimstoITL.However,holdersofpatentsarenotobligatedtorespondtoITLcallsforpatentsandITLhasnotundertakenapatentsearchinordertoidentifywhich,ifany,patentsmayapplytothis

publication.

Asofthedateofpublicationandfollowingcall(s)fortheidentificationofpatentclaimswhoseusemayberequiredforcompliancewiththeguidanceorrequirementsofthispublication,nosuchpatentclaimshavebeenidentifiedtoITL.

NorepresentationismadeorimpliedbyITLthatlicensesarenotrequiredtoavoidpatentinfringementintheuseofthispublication.

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TableofContents

1.Introduction 1

2.DefinitionofDigitalTwins 2

3.MotivationandVision 4

3.1.AdvantagesofDigitalTwinTechnology…4

3.3.supportiveTechnologies…5

a.OperationsonDigitalTwins 7

4.1.DigitalTwinsDefinitionsandthecreationofDigitalTwinInstances…7

4.2.ManipulationandModificationofDigitalTwinDefinitionsandInstances…8

4.3.ExchangeofDigitalTwinDefinitionsandInstances…8

5.UsageScenariosforDigitalTwins 9

5.1.viewingstaticModelsofDigitalTwins…9

5.2.ExecutingandviewingDynamicModelsofDigitalTwins…9

5.3.Real-TimeMonitoringofReal-worldEntities11

5a.eal-imecommandandcontrolofeal-worldEntties………11

6.HighlightedUseCases 12

7.CybersecurityConsiderations 13

7.1.Novelcybersecuritychallenges13

7.1.1.MassiveInstrumentationofObjects 13

7.1.2.CentralizationofObjectMeasurements 14

7.1.3.VisualizationandRepresentationofObjectOperation 14

7.1.4.RemoteControlofObjects 14

8.TrustConsiderations 17

9.Conclusions 21

References 22

AppendixA.ListofSymbols,Abbreviations,andAcronyms 24

AppendixB.Glossary 25

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1.Introduction

Adigitaltwin(DT)isanelectronicrepresentationofareal-worldentity;providingthecapabilitytoevaluatethisentity.Adigitaltwincanemulatebothphysicalthings(e.g.,buildings,

electronics,livingthings),andnon-physicalthings(e.g.,processes,conceptualmodels).Aswithmanynewinformationtechnologies,digitaltwintechnologyemploysexistingfoundational

technologiesandmayreflectexistingcapabilities.Itcoverswhatcurrentlyexistsinmodeling

andsimulationbutthencastsabroadervisionforfuturecapabilities.Thefullbenefitsofdigitaltwintechnologywillrequireinteroperabledefinitions,tools,andstandardsaswellasearly

considerationofdigitaltwincybersecurityandtrust.Thissituationisespeciallytruefornascentstandardseffortsthatseektodefineandstructurethetechnology.

Thisreportintroducestheconceptofadigitaltwin,describestheunderlyingtechnologies,andexpandsonitscurrentcapabilitiesbydiscussingkeycomponents,functions,andcybersecurityandtrustconsiderations.Itisnotintendedtodefine“digitaltwin”–thisactivityshouldbe

undertakenbySDOs.Anydefinitionof“digitaltwin,”however,shouldaddressasetoftechnicalconsiderations,whichareofferedherein.Thesetechnicalconsiderationscanalsobeusedto

testanydefinitionthatiscreatedbyanySDO.

Thisreportisorganizedasfollows:

?Section

2

definesdigitaltwintechnology.

?Section

3

describesthemotivationsforusingdigitaltwintechnology,includingadvantagesandsupportivetechnologies.

?Section

4

discussestypicaloperationsperformedondigitaltwins.

?Section

5

describestechnicalusagescenariosfordigitaltwins.

?Section

6

providesexampleindustryapplicationsofdigitaltwintechnology.

?Section

7

explorescybersecurityconsiderationsinthecontextofexistingNISTguidancebyidentifyingandexploringtraditionalcybersecurityneeds,novelcybersecurity

challenges,andapproachesthatapplytodigitaltwintechnology.

?Section

8

discussestrustissuesthatcanpreventadigitaltwinfromprovidingthe

desiredoperationalfunctionalitywithanacceptablelevelofqualityinthecontextofexistingNISTguidance.

?Section

9

offersconcludingthoughts.

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2.DefinitionsofDigitalTwins

Thereareseveralexistingdefinitionsfordigitaltwins.Somehavebeencreatedbyresearchers,standardscommittees,consortia,andindustry.Othersareimplicitlysuggestedbycommercialenterprisesthatmakestatementsabouthowtheirsoftwareapplicationsare“digitaltwin-

compliant.”Despitethesedefinitionsthereisnoagreed-upondefinitionfororconsensusonthefullpotentialofdigitaltwins

[1]

.

TheDigitalTwinConsortium(DTC)offersthefollowingdescriptionfordigitaltwins:

Adigitaltwinisavirtualrepresentationofreal-worldentitiesandprocessessynchronizedataspecifiedfrequencyandfidelity.

?Digitaltwinsystemstransformbusinessbyacceleratingholistic

understanding,optimaldecision-making,andeffectiveaction.

?Digitaltwinsusereal-timeandhistoricaldatatorepresentthe pastandpresentandsimulatepredictedfutures.

?Digitaltwinsaremotivatedbyoutcomes,tailoredtousecases, poweredbyintegration,builtondata,guidedbydomain knowledge,andimplementedinIT/OTsystems

[1]

.

Asimplifieddefinitionfordigitaltwins

1

couldbe:

Adigitaltwinisthevirtual(i.e.,digital)representationofaphysicalorperceivedreal–worldentity,concept,ornotion.

Theuseoftheword“virtual”isappropriatebecauseadigitaltwinissomethingthathastheeffectbutnottheactualformofwhatisspecified.DTsoftwareimplementationspresentahumanuserwithanobject’svisualgraphicrepresentation,eitherstaticordynamic,viatheobject’sDT.

Arelatedimportanttermisthatofadigitaltwindefinition:

Adigitaltwindefinitionisamachine–readablespecificationthatdescribesfeaturesthatmaybemodeledforaparticulartypeofreal–worldentity.

Thus,adigitaltwindefinitionreferstoaparticulartypeofentityratherthanthespecificentityitself.Itdefinesthefeaturesofanentitytypethatcanbestaticallyanddynamicallymodeled,

howthosefeatureswillbedigitallyencodedandrepresented,andhowtheywillpersistina

digitalcomputerenvironment.Computersoftwareapplicationswillreaddigitaltwindefinitionstocreatedigitaltwininstances(orsimply,digitaltwin),whichareinstantiationsofreal-world

objectsthatmodelthestateofrepresentedobjects.

Whilemanyofthesereal-worldentitieshavephysicalforms(e.g.,anaircraftengine,anoil

derrick,avalveinanoilpipelinepumpingstation),digitaltwinscanalsorepresentsomething

abstract.TheDTCdefinitioncontainstheword“processes,”whichisanabstractnotion,andthesimplifieddefinitiondiscussesentitiesthatmaybeperceivedorconceivedwithouthavinga

1Section

3

discussesthedifferencesbetweendigitaltwintechnologyandtraditionalmodelingandsimulation,andSec.

9

discussestheimportanceofsynchronizationbetweenadigitaltwinandareal-worldentity.

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physicalform.Forexample,aprocessinacomputeroperatingsystemisreal,evenifitdoesnothaveaconcreteorphysicalshape.Itisaconglomerationofmultipleintangiblethings,suchaselectricalsignals,thestatesofregistersthatcontainvoltageandcurrentlevels,andthe

electricalstateofmemory.Whetheritisviewedstaticallyordynamically,acomputerprogramisreal,andonecanclearlyobservetheeffectsthatithasonotherobjects.

Abusinessprocessisanotherexampleofanabstractconceptthatisrealbuthasnomaterialform.Infact,somesoftwaredefinesdigitaltwinsasrepresentationsofbusinessprocesses.

Digitaltwinscouldevendescribethestepsinamanufacturingprocessorsimulateaspectsof

thedynamicexecutionofspecificprocessesinafactoryorchemicalplant,suchasoilrefiningortheproductionofnuclearfuel.Inshort,adigitaltwincanrepresentanythingthatahumancanconceiveorperceive,whetherphysicalornot.

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3.MotivationandVision

Elementsofdigitaltwintechnologyhavelongexistedincomputersandsoftwarethatrepresententitiesandsimulatedynamicbehavior.Now,thematurationofnumerousunderlying

technologiesismakingitpossibletobroadlyapplysimulationandmodelingintheformof

digitalrepresentationsandmakethetechnologyaccessibletoamuchwideruserbase.The

InternetofThings(IoT)hasledtotheemergenceofsmall,low-cost,battery-poweredsensorsthatconnectoveranetworkandenablemassivesensordeploymenttoawidevarietyof

objects(e.g.,modernbuildingsmayhavethousandsofsensors).Thesesensorsthenprovide

informationthatcanfeedandmaintaincomplexmodelsofthoseobjects.Theadvancesin

powerfulbutlow-costprocessingandstorageenableustomaintain,view,andmanipulate

thesedigitalreplicaswithouthavingtousespecial-purposeorexpensivehardware.Therecentadvancesinvirtualreality(VR)andaugmentedreality(AR)haveenabledinexpensive

visualizationofdigitaltwins.

Digitaltwintechnologyisalsoanadvancementoverexistingsimulationandmodelingbecauseitallowsforthereal-timemonitoringofentitieswhiledynamicallyupdatingtheirdigitaltwins.Thereisalsoatrendtoremotecontrolphysicalentitiesbymanipulatingdynamicmodels(i.e.,digitaltwins)asopposedtodirectlymanipulatingtheobjectsthemselves.Suchcontrolismoreindirectandabstractsawaydetailsthathumansmaynotbeabletomanage.

Standardsdevelopmentwilllikelyimpactwhetherdigitaltwintechnologybecomeswidely

used.MostIoTsystems,simulationandmodelingsoftware,andVRandARsystemscurrentlyexistinstovepipeproprietarysystemsandintegratingthemrequiressignificantwork.Muchoftheworkinemergingdigitaltwintechnologyisinthecreationofprotocolsandstandardsto

enableplugandplayintegration.Thegoalistobeabletoloadanydigitaltwincomputerfileintoadigitaltwinsystemandhaveitfunctionregardlessofwhatisbeingmodeled.

3.1.AdvantagesofDigitalTwinTechnology

Aplatformormechanismthatsupportsthecreationofdigitalmodelsofreal-worldobjectsisadvantageousforseveralreasons.Forexample,onecanstudytheobjectviaitsmodelpriortobuildingthereal-worldversion,studytheobjectasitprogressesthroughitslifecycle,and

conceivablycontroltheobjectthroughthemodeltopreventundesirableoutcomesfortheobject,thusreducingcertaintypesofrisk.

Thisadvantageincreaseswhenmodelingmultipleobjectsthatneedtoworktogether,eveniftheobjectsaremaintainedbydifferentorganizations.Ifcooperatingentitiescansharedigitaltwindefinitions,thentheycanmoreeasilymodelanddigitallysimulateobjectinteractions

priortotherealizationoftheoutputproduct.However,theinternaldefinitionsand

representationsoftheobjectsbeingmodeledbyeachsoftwareapplicationtendtobehighlyproprietary.Thedigitalartifactscreatedbytoday’sapplicationsarenoteasilyshared,andtheapplicationsarethereforenotinteroperable.

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3.2.ExpectationofStandards

Theadoptionofandadherencetostandardsmayensureinteroperability,compatibility,safety,andcybersecurity.Moreover,theassurancethatsoftwareandhardwaresystems,tools,and

applicationsadheretoandproperlyimplementstandardsengenderscredibilityandtrust

[3]

.

Effortsareunderwaytodevelopdigitaltwinspecificstandardsthatwillbeutilizedinadditiontotheexistingvariousinformationandcommunicationtechnologystandards.

Digitaltwintechnologywillbebuiltuponexistingcomputingsystemstacks,platform

architectures,programmingplatforms,systems,libraries,applicationprogrammerinterfaces

(APIs),andinfrastructure.Forexample,OpenGLisapossible3Dgraphicsstandardusedto

renderthevisualrepresentationcomponentofdigitaltwins.Whileexistingcybersecurity

encryptionstandardswillbeleveraged,multiplecooperating(orcompeting)standardsthatarespecifictodigitaltwintechnologywillbeneeded.Asinglestandardmaynotadequatelyaddressallneeds,andstandardsharmonizationorblendingmaybeappropriate

[4]

.Toolvendors,

softwareandhardwareapplicationvendors,anduserscancomplywithstandardsbyensuringthattheyonlyusevettedelements,whichshouldalsoleadtotheinteroperabilityoftoolsandapplications.

Oneapproachtoestablishingstandardsfordigitaltwintechnologyistofocusonstandardmechanismsforexchanginginformation,suchastherepresentationofreal-worldobjects.

Algorithmsthatsimulatethedynamicbehaviorofobjectscouldremainproprietarytoprotectintellectualproperty,butthedescriptionoftheobjectwhosebehaviorisbeingsimulatedcouldbestandardizedandopeninordertobeexchangedbetweenapplications,domains,industries,andverticalmarkets.Inthesimulationandmodelingarena,therearemanysophisticated

softwaretoolsandapplicationsthatsupport2Dand3Dmodelingandengineeringanalysis.

Eachoftheseapplicationsusesproprietaryinternalmodelstorepresenttheobjectsbeing

modeled(i.e.,thosecreatedbytheuser).Theyalsouseproprietaryandoftencloselyguardedalgorithmsthatrepresentthefunctionalcapabilitiesformodelingandsimulation.

Potentialstandardswouldneedtocovereachinvolvedbusinessdomain.Everyonewho

employsdigitaltwintechnologyinspecificbusinessdomainswouldneedtheirownunique

standardsandstandards-basedproductsthatadheretoacommonsetofbusinessprocessesandusecaseswhereinteroperabilitycanbeachieved.Itisinsufficientforstandardstomerelyenableinteroperabilityinpurelytechnologicaldomains.

3.3.SupportiveTechnologies

Twoofthesupportivetechnologiesthatsupporttherecentinterestindigitaltwintechnology

areVR/ARandIoT.OneexpectationfordigitaltwintechnologyistoleverageVRandARto

createenhanceduserinterfacesanduserexperiencesforhumanbeingstocomprehendthe

modeling,simulation,monitoring,andcommandandcontrolofcomplexentities.Humansrelyheavilyonvisualsensoryinput,andVRandARpromisetopresentmodelsofreal-worldentitiesthroughamediumthatisamenabletohumanconsumptionandcomprehension.

IoThasbeenreferencedindigitaltwindiscussionsandliteraturethankstorecentadvancesinsensorsandtheirongoinganddramaticproliferationinvariousoperations.Thesesensorsare

6

typicallynetwork-connectedanddrivetheabilityofdigitaltwinstomodelreal-worldobjectsinwaysthatwerenotpossibleuntilrecently.Additionally,IoTdevicesareoftenusedtocreateaninformationfabricor“network”thatconsistsoftheobservedentities,thesensorsthatobserveandgatherinformation,theconnectivityelements,theprocessingcomponents(i.e.,backend

computeservers),andthecomponentsthatusetheprocessedIoTdata.Withthesenew

sensorsbeingdeployedonanIoTfabric,digitaltwinscanrepresentanddynamicallymaintaintherepresentationofaninstanceofaninstrumentedobject

[5]

.

Thus,theapplicationofdigitaltwinsgoesbeyondsimplymodelingaclassofreal-worldentities.Itcanalsobeusedtorepresentandtrackaspecificobject,maintainthereal-timestatus,and

presentadynamicallyupdatedviewtoauser.Withanaccurateunderstandingofthestateof

anobject,adigitaltwinmayalsobemanipulatedbyausertocontroltheactualobject,

meaningthatDTtechnologymayadvancebeyondtraditionalmodelingandsimulationsoftwaretoencompasscommand-and-control.Forexample,operatorscouldremotelycommandsurfacerailorsubwaytrainsfromanoperationscenter.

Dependingontheobject,asystemthatmonitorstheobject’sstatemayneedtounderstandthestate’sratesofchange.Forexample,asystemthatmonitorstherateofvelocitychangemay

needtodetectwhentheboundariesofsafeoperationaresurpassed.Forthis,artificial

intelligence(AI)andmachinelearning(ML)couldpotentiallyoutperformtraditionalcomputingmethodsaswellashumanswhomonitorconditionsandmakepredictions.Scientistsand

engineerscouldcreatemodelsofreal-worldconditionsandemploythemtotrainAIsystemstorecognizethoseconditions.Suchapplicationsforsimulation,modeling,andmonitoringare

majormotivationforadvancingdigitaltwintechnology.

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4.OperationsonDigitalTwins

Thissectiondiscussesseverallower-leveloperationsthatareperformedondigitaltwins:

?Digitaltwindefinitions(i.e.,descriptionsofobjecttypes)andthecreationofdigitaltwininstances

?Manipulationandmodificationofdigitaltwindefinitionsandinstances

?Exchangeviaelectroniccommunicationsofdigitaltwindefinitionsandinstances

Itisenvisionedthattherewillbemanydigitaltwindefinitionsthatdescribemanykindsofentities.Thissectionalsodiscussesoperationsondigitaltwins,

2

whicharespecificinstancescreatedfromdigitaltwindefinitions.

4.1.DigitalTwinsDefinitionsandtheCreationofDigitalTwinInstances

Adigitaltwindefinitionisaformaldescriptionofthereal-worldentitythatthedigitaltwinrepresents.Forthepurposesofthisreport,thinkofaformaldescriptionasatechnical

definitionofaparticularcategoryorclassofreal-worldobjects.

Thestartingpointforallactivityinvolvingdigitaltwintechnologyistocreateorfindadigital

twindefinitionthatrepresentsthetypeofreal-worldobjectthatistoberepresentedvirtually.Computersoftwareapplicationsarethenusedtocreateaninstanceforthatdefinitiontoholdand/ormaintainthestateoftherepresentedobject.Thesedigitaltwinelectronicinstancescanrepresentbothstaticanddynamicmodelsofthereal-worldentitiesthatcorrespondtotheir

respectivedigitaltwindefinitions.

Thespecificdigitaltwindefinitioncreatedforsomeobjecttypeswilldictatetheprecisemakeupoftheartifactsthatareinstantiatedfromthedefinition.Forexample,adigitaltwindefinitionisnotrequiredtoincludeadynamicviewofitsreal-worldcounterpart.Rather,itcouldcompriseonlyastaticviewoftheobject.Thus,notalldigitaltwindefinitionswillnecessarilycontainall

possibledeclarationsordefinitionconstructsdefinedinsomefuturestandard.Similarly,notallhypertextmarkuplanguage(HTML)filesutilizealltagsdefinedbytheHTMLstandard

[6]

.Ifa

particulardigitaltwindefinitiononlysupportsrepresentingastaticmodelofanentity,the

relatedinstanceswouldcontainnodynamicinformation,suchashowtorenderanimation,

video,ordynamicgraphics.Consider,forexample,aVRpresentationofanavalvessel.AstaticviewcouldrepresenttheinternalelementsoftheshipseenthroughVRasifapersonwere

literallywalkingthroughthevessel.VRtechnologywouldbemoreamenabletothisapplicationthana3DPDFview.Thelatterwouldcomprisedetailedengineeringdrawingstantamounttoanarchitect’sblueprintdrawings.However,itwouldbedifficulttopresenttheequivalentofwhatapersonwouldseewalkingthroughtheinterioroftheship.

Adigitaltwindefinitionshouldcreateamodeloftheobjectitrepresents,notjustaparticular

view.Themodelcouldthenbeusedtopresentthedesiredviewpointofthereal-worldentity.Adefinitioncancontainasmuchoraslittleinformationaboutitsreal-worldcounterpartasits

2Areferencetoa“digitaltwin”withoutotherqualifiersreferstothedigitaltwininstancethatrepresentstheentity.

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authordesires,whichmaylimitthetypesofviewsthatcanbecreated.Digitaltwindefinitionauthorsdecidethebreadth,scope,degreeofgranularity,anddetail.

Apracticalconsiderationistheprocessofdigitaltwindefinitionauthoringandencoding.Whileitmaybepossibletoauthordefinitionsusingatexteditor,thispracticecouldbecome

supplantedbymoreadvancedtools.Thisissimilartohownotmanypeoplehand-codeHTMLorXMLanymore

[7]

.Moreover,thecomplexityofdigitaltwindefinitionscouldentirelyprecludetheabilitytocraftdefinitionsbyhand.Manyindustriesusesophisticatedsoftwareapplicationstocreatedigitalartifactsthatrepresentwhattheyplantobuild.Someofthesesoftware

applicationssupportthe“export”oftheirartifactsinstandardfileformatsandencodings,suchasthe3DPDFstandard

[8]

.However,themajorityoftheseapplicationsusetheirown

propri