Encryption as a service for smart grid advanced metering infrastructure

Abstract

Smart grid advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) bridges between consumers, utilities, and market. Its operation relies on large scale communication networks. At the lowest level, information are acquired by smart meters and sensors. At the highest level, information are stored and processed by smart grid control centers for various purposes. The AMI conveys a big amount of sensitive information. Prevention of unauthorized access to these information is a major concern for smart grid operators. Encryption is the primary security measure for preventing unauthorized access. It incurs various overheads and deployment costs. In recent times, the security as a service (SECaaS) model has introduced a number cloud-based security solutions such as encryption as a service (EaaS). It promises the speed and cost-effectiveness of cloud computing. In this paper, we propose a framework named encryption service for smart grid AMI (ES4AM). The ES4AM framework focuses on lightweight encryption of in-flight AMI data. We also study the feasibility of the framework using relevant simulation results.