Remote Laboratory Security Case Study: Physical and Digital Risks of FPGA and Raspberry Pi Farms

Remote laboratories are crucial platforms for academic research and distributed learning. This paper discusses how remote laboratories controlled by specialized hardware, such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and Raspberry Pi farms can present both physical and digital risks. Possible hazards can be caused by a variety of issues, including environmental constraints, hardware degradation, and physical tampering; digitally, the system may suffer from vulnerabilities, such as cyber-attacks, firmware flaws, and network-based intrusions. As such, this paper aims to identify all risk factors while also listing possible mitigation strategies. Ultimately, this study aims to serve as a guide for institutions and organizations in deploying secure and resilient remote laboratory infrastructures.