Cyber–Physical System Security of Distribution Systems
By Chen-Ching Liu, Virginia Tech, USA, ccliu@vt.edu | Juan C. Bedoya, Virginia Tech, USA | Nitasha Sahani, Virginia Tech, USA | Alexandru Stefanov, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands | Jennifer Appiah-Kubi, Virginia Tech, USA | Chih-Che Sun, Washington State University, USA | Jin Young Lee, Washington State University, USA | Ruoxi Zhu, Virginia Tech, USA
Abstract
The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for control and monitoring of power systems is a layer on top of the physical power system infrastructure. The cyber system and physical power system components form a tightly coupled Cyber–Physical System (CPS). Sources of vulnerabilities arise from the computing and communication systems of the cyber–power grid. Cyber intrusions targeting the power grid are serious threats to the reliability of electricity supply that is critical to society and the economy. In a typical Information Technology environment, numerous attack scenarios have shown how unauthorized users can access and manipulate protected information from a network domain. The need for cyber security has led to industry standards that power grids must meet to ensure that the monitoring, operation, and control functions are not disrupted by cyber intrusions. Cyber security technologies such as encryption and authentication have been deployed on the CPS. Intrusion or anomaly detection and mitigation tools developed for power grids are emerging. This survey paper provides the basic concepts of cyber vulnerabilities of distribution systems and CPS security. The important ICT subjects for distribution systems covered in this paper include Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition, Distributed Energy Resources, including renewable energy and smart meters.
Cyber–Physical System Security of Distribution Systems
Threats of cyberattacks targeting the electric power grid have been increasing in recent years. The consequence of cyber incidents on the power grid includes equipment damage, cascading events, large-scale power outages, and disruption of market functions. Government and industry have made a significant effort to strengthen the protection of the power infrastructure against cyber threats by setting standards and guidelines.
This monograph provides the basic concepts of cyber vulnerabilities of distribution systems and cyber-physical system security. Important ICT subjects for distribution systems covered in this paper include Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), including renewable energy and smart meters.
The publication is intended to serve as a module in senior-level undergraduate as well as graduate courses in power engineering. The objective is to provide fundamental concepts of cyber security for the distribution system as a cyber-physical system. To meet the objective, vulnerabilities of cyber intrusions and mitigation strategies are discussed. The evolution of the ICT for the power grid and cyber security measures are presented, as well as the ICT in the power system environment. An overview of smart grid communication standards and protocols are included, and the detection of cyber intrusions in distribution systems are considered. Finally, simulation cases are provided.
