An electric power digital twin for cyber security testing, research and education

Abstract

Cyber–Physical Systems (CPS) rely on communication and control technologies to efficiently manage devices in the system. However, a wide variety of potential security challenges has emerged due to the evolution of critical infrastructures (CI) from siloed sub-systems into integrated networks, including smart grid (SG). SG security studies are carried out on physical test-beds to train and test cyber attacks in a safe/controlled environment. However, it has limitations w.r.t modifying physical configuration and scalability.To overcome these shortcomings, we built a digital power twin for a physical test-bed that is used for cyber security studies on SGs. The twin enable users to deploy real world attacks and countermeasures, and study its effectiveness. In the twin users may easily modify the components and configurations unlike in a physical test-bed. Further, reproducing the twin for advancing the research is significantly cheaper. We illustrate the typical use case with an example case study.