Digital twin technology is an emerging area of research and standardization. Because of this, there may be a lack of clarity as to what is new with digital twins and what promise this technology holds. Draft NISTIR 8356, Considerations for Digital Twin Technology and Emerging Standards, provides a detailed definition of digital twins, the motivation and vision for their use, common low-level operations, usage scenarios, and example use cases. Focusing on technical considerations with the cybersecurity and trust of digital twins, this report analyzes novel cybersecurity challenges arising from the use of digital twin architectures and examines the traditional cybersecurity challenges that apply. Finally, this draft report evaluates trust issues—including the impact a lack of trust and standards can have on digital twin functionality and quality—and maps those evaluations to other NIST cybersecurity guidance.

The public comment period is open through June 16, 2021. See the publication details for a copy of the draft and instructions for submitting comments.

NOTE: A call for patent claims is included on page iii of this draft. For additional information, see the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) Patent Policy--Inclusion of Patents in ITL Publications.