Cyber Physical Security Solutions for Pervasive Health Monitoring Systems - E-Healthcare Systems and Wireless Communications - page 146

The authors illustrate the design issues and principals of CYPSec through two specific examples of
this generic approach: (a) Physiological Signal based key Agreement (PSKA) is designed to enable
automated key agreement between sensors in the BAN based on physiological signals from the body;
and (b) Criticality Aware Access Control (CAAC) which has the ability to provide controlled opening
of the system for emergency management. Further, they also discuss aspects such as altered threat-
model, increased complexity, non-determinism, and mixed critical systems, that must be addressed to
make CYPSec a reality.

INTRODUCTION 2006). We call a system Cyber-Physical, if it has

computing capability, a physical element (physi-
cal process operating in an environment), and a
close coupling between the two. A recent survey
found that a typical household has at least 100
microprocessors while a typical new model car
has more than 100 of its own (Bass & Christensen,
2002). In fact, most of microprocessors are now
embedded in systems which are not computers
(Lee, Computing needs Time, 2009). The idea
behind Cyber-Physical Systems is to incorporate
intelligence in everyday objects/services in order
to improve the efficiency of performing certain
rudimentary but crucial tasks. Examples of CPS
include simple systems such as smart coffee pots
that can detect the decrease the temperature of its
contents (coffee) and alert the user so that the coffee
does not have to be unnecessarily re-heated to com-
plex ones such as data-thermal aware scheduling
in data-centers. Cyber-physical systems can play
a huge role in alleviating the problems of provid-
ing improved healthcare through the realization
of pervasive health monitoring systems (PHMS).

Our society has been facing considerable challeng-
es in recent years. Increasing traffic congestion,
energy scarcity, climate change and many other
issues have taken a turn for the worse and need
urgent attention. One such area is that of providing
quality healthcare to people, the primary focus
on this chapter. The health-care system in most
countries has increasingly come under pressure
as the average age of their population increases
and the number of elderly people swells. This will
most likely lead to dire shortages of health-care
personnel, and, if left unattended, could result
in a drop in the quality of medical care and a
substantial increase in health-care costs (World
Population Ageing:1950-2050:), (Stanford, 2002).
Technology can play a major role in alleviating
these problems through the development of smart-
infrastructures in the form of automated pervasive
health monitoring technologies. Such systems can
monitor a person's health and alert appropriate
health-care personnel in case of emergencies,
thereby providing optimal care with minimal
supervision.
The crucial technological breakthrough that has
made this leap possible are miniaturized sensing,
communication and processing platforms which
can be embedded as a part of larger systems/
processes for providing real-time monitoring
and feedback control services (Adelstein, Gupta,
Richard, & Schwiebert, 2005). Such systems, with
platforms deeply embedded in physical processes,
are called cyber-physical systems (CPS) (Tabuada,

Pervasive Health
Monitoring Systems

Significant advances in communication and
sensing technologies has led to the development
of intelligent handheld and wearable devices
(such as cell phones, smart watches, clothes, and
bands) that have made it possible to implement
a wide range of solutions for Pervasive Health
Monitoring Systems (PHMS). It can be seen that