Smart Grid Security Research Articles

Secure smart grid implementation with automatic data integrity attack location prediction and exalted energy theft detection

Smart grid systems use digital communication technology to efficiently monitor and manage electricity distribution. However, there is a need for improve the robustness of smart grid systems. Hence a novel “Secure Smart Grid Implementation with Automatic Data Integrity Attack Location Prediction and Exalted Energy Theft Detection” has been proposed. Current detection methods are not good at identifying data integrity attacks. So a novel Automatic Deterministic Attack Location Prediction Model detects data integrity attacks using a Stacked Watermarking BiGRU-based Deep Deterministic Q network, extracting system matrix and state time series variation. Moreover, Energy theft detection algorithms, which are intended to detect dishonest clients, provide erroneous findings because of linear interpolation processes and randomised near misses, which ignore important data points. Thus a novel Exalted Energy Theft Detector with Secure Encoding is introduced where Amortized Multicode GAN method secures smart grids by detecting energy theft and preventing firmware code modifications, utilising fractional multi-level quantum encoding to identify injection locations. As a result, the proposed model has an accuracy of 97.1%, recall of 96.25%, error rate is 1.36%, F1-score is 96.20%, sensitivity is 96.10%, specificity is 96.10%, MAPE is 0.48%, MSE is 0.0001 and RMSE is 0.017.

Real-Time Intrusion Detection in Power Grids Using Deep Learning: Ensuring DPU Data Security

Deep learning technologies have revolutionized the management of energy, energy consumption, and data security within smart grids through non-intrusive load monitoring (NILM). This paper explores the use of deep learning for real-time intrusion detection in power grids with a primary focus on safeguarding the integrity and security of Data Processing Units (DPUs). An evaluation of various machine learning models, including Support Vector Machine (SVM), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Decision Trees, and Random Forests, is conducted to detect various types of intrusions, including Fault, Injection, Masquerade, Normal, and Replay. Random Forest produced AUC values of 1.00 for all classes and an overall F1-score of 0.99 for all classes. The Decision Tree model also shows robust performance for detecting Fault and Injection intrusions (AUC = 0.98), with an overall F1-score of 0.94. However, the LDA and SVM models do not perform well in detecting Injection intrusions with overall F1-scores of 0.83 and 0.86. Advances in machine learning can be used to improve smart grid security, reliability, and efficiency, according to this study. These findings highlight the potential of advanced machine learning techniques to enhance smart grid reliability and efficiency. Doi: 10.28991/HIJ-2024-05-03-018 Full Text: PDF

Network Security Challenges and Countermeasures for Software-Defined Smart Grids: A Survey

The rise of grid modernization has been prompted by the escalating demand for power, the deteriorating state of infrastructure, and the growing concern regarding the reliability of electric utilities. The smart grid encompasses recent advancements in electronics, technology, telecommunications, and computer capabilities. Smart grid telecommunication frameworks provide bidirectional communication to facilitate grid operations. Software-defined networking (SDN) is a proposed approach for monitoring and regulating telecommunication networks, which allows for enhanced visibility, control, and security in smart grid systems. Nevertheless, the integration of telecommunications infrastructure exposes smart grid networks to potential cyberattacks. Unauthorized individuals may exploit unauthorized access to intercept communications, introduce fabricated data into system measurements, overwhelm communication channels with false data packets, or attack centralized controllers to disable network control. An ongoing, thorough examination of cyber attacks and protection strategies for smart grid networks is essential due to the ever-changing nature of these threats. Previous surveys on smart grid security lack modern methodologies and, to the best of our knowledge, most, if not all, focus on only one sort of attack or protection. This survey examines the most recent security techniques, simultaneous multi-pronged cyber attacks, and defense utilities in order to address the challenges of future SDN smart grid research. The objective is to identify future research requirements, describe the existing security challenges, and highlight emerging threats and their potential impact on the deployment of software-defined smart grid (SD-SG).

Preface

It is my honor to present the proceedings of the 2024 3rd International Conference on Smart Grid and Green Energy (ICSGGE 2024). ICSGGE 2024 is an event that brings together the world’s leading experts and scholars in the fields of smart grid and green energy, and is also an excellent platform for sharing the latest research results and discussing the application of cutting-edge technologies in related research domains. With the increasing severity of global climate change and energy crisis, smart grid and green energy, as the key means to solve the energy problem, have received extensive attention from the international community. In order to further promote technological innovation, academic exchanges and cooperation in the fields of smart grid and green energy, ICSGGE 2024 was held from April 19th to 21st, 2024 in Chengdu, China (virtual conference). ICSGGE 2024 brought together top scholars and researchers from all over the world, who shared their latest research results and practical experiences in the fields of smart grid and green energy in this conference. Such topics as The Role of Smart Grids to Drive Cities Towards Carbon Neutrality (by Prof. Steivan Defilla, Tianjin University, China), Role of Energy Conservation & Management in Energy Transition (by Prof. Muhammad Asif, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Saudi Arabia), among others were discussed during the keynote speech part. Through exchanges and discussions, we have jointly explored the development trends and future research direction of smart grid and green energy, stimulated innovative thinking, and promoted academic exchanges and cooperation. This proceedings of ICSGGE 2024 contains excellent academic papers from all around the world, which not only cover the basic theories, teaching methods, and evaluation systems of smart grid and green energy, but also discuss in depth the applications and innovations in many fields. Topics include but are not limited to Smart Grid Security, Energy Transfer and Interactive Technology, Communication-Based Control and Protection, Photovoltaic Systems and Solar Energy Engineering, Power Electronics and Drives, Wind Energy Generation, etc. Each paper has been strictly reviewed and screened to ensure its academic value and practical application value. We would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the experts and scholars, organizers, sponsors and participants who have contributed to and supported this conference. And we believe that all the experts and scholars have harvested fruitful results and inspired new inspirations in this event. Through our joint efforts and wisdom, the ICSGGE 2024 has become a grand event in the fields of smart grid and green energy, and made a new contribution to the promotion of electronic and energy engineering. The Committee of ICSGGE 2024 List of Committee Member is available in this Pdf.

Markov game based on reinforcement learning solution against cyber–physical attacks in smart grid

The rapid expansion of information networks has amplified vulnerabilities in cyberspace, particularly within the power grid and communication layers of smart grid systems. Safeguarding smart grid security has become imperative for users concerned about both online and offline privacy. Detecting attacks in smart grids is crucial for ensuring the safety and continuity of the electrical network. This paper introduces a novel stealth attack-defense game that examines the impact of these invasions on the availability, confidentiality, and integrity of phasor measurement units. The proposed system considers both attack and defense perspectives. Attackers focus on key parameters to covertly infiltrate system layers while defending the smart grid system requires advanced knowledge of data flow and critical insights to establish robust protections. To address this cybersecurity challenge, we propose a game approach based on a partially observed Markov game with an improved Shapley Q-value and a multi-agent reinforcement learning framework, implemented in cooperative, communicative, and dynamic environments. The evaluation results demonstrate the robustness of the proposed approach against coordinated attacks in smart grid environments. Additionally, the results emphasize the significance of attack distribution as a crucial trace for identifying the attack source. Our approach shows promise for addressing various types of attacks against smart grid systems.

Smart Grid and Electricity Security: Case of Azerbaijan as a Resource-Rich Country

Smart Grid and Electricity Security: Case of Azerbaijan as a Resource-Rich Country

Security in advanced metering infrastructures: Lightweight cryptography

Abstract Smart grids are designed to revolutionize the energy sector by creating a smarter, more efficient and reliable power supply network. The rise of smart grids is a response to the need for a more comprehensive and sophisticated energy system that caters to the needs of homes and businesses. Key features of smart grids include the integration of renewable energy sources, decentralized generation and advanced distribution networks. At the heart of smart grids is a sophisticated metering system, consisting of intelligent electronic devices that measure energy consumption and enable two-way communication between the utility company and the consumer. The information exchanged via these devices is critical, as it includes sensitive data such as energy consumption patterns and billing information. With the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0, the security of this information is of utmost importance. This paper delves into the security challenges faced by advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and highlights the crucial role played by cryptography in ensuring the secure exchange of sensitive information. Cryptographic protocols such as encryption, authentication and digital signatures are essential components of a secure smart grid infrastructure. These protocols work together to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and authenticity of the information exchanged between the utility company and the consumer.

Application of Intelligent Cloud Computing Technology in Optical Communication Network Security of Smart Grid

In order to improve the security of smart grid optical communication network, this paper combines intelligent cloud computing technology to build a security system of optical communication network of power grid. In the aspect of improving communication security performance, multi-user access is realized by non-orthogonal power domain segmentation, and different users use different powers to add and superimpose the same spectrum resources, so as to increase spectrum utilization. At the sending end, this paper improves the safe channel capacity of users by means of pre-coding and artificial noise, and realizes the safe transmission of information. In terms of transmission stability, the cloud computing platform is used as a data processing platform, and multiple nodes are processed synchronously through optical communication state identification, which can more effectively improve the speed of optical communication state identification data. In order to test the performance of the power grid information dispatching model designed in this paper in optimizing power grid configuration and improving power grid load, simulation experiments are carried out. Through the experimental analysis, we can see that the communication method proposed in this paper can accurately identify the intrusion factors, and can effectively improve the security of smart grid optical communication network.

A Comprehensive Survey on Enabling Techniques in Secure and Resilient Smart Grids

Smart grids are a cornerstone of the transition to a decentralised, low-carbon energy system, which offer significant benefits, including increased reliability, improved energy efficiency, and seamless integration of renewable energy sources. However, ensuring the security and resilience of smart grids is paramount. Cyber attacks, physical disruptions, and other unforeseen threats pose a significant risk to the stability and functionality of the grid. This paper identifies the research gaps and technical hurdles that hinder the development of a robust and secure smart grid infrastructure. This paper addresses the critical gaps in smart grid security research, outlining the technical challenges and promising avenues for exploration by both the industry and academia. A novel framework designed to enhance the reliability and security of smart grids was proposed against cyber attacks, considering the interconnectedness of the physical and cyber components. The paper further explores future research trends and identifies the key open issues in the ongoing effort to strengthen the security and resilience of smart grids.

An improved lightweight and privacy preserving authentication scheme for smart grid communication

Smart grid is an efficient and reliable technical framework for controlling computers and automation equipment, and how to ensure the communication security in smart grid is an important issue. Cryptographic authentication scheme is a feasible solution, and the existing authentication schemes for smart grid seek to ensure better performance. Some existing authentication schemes lack comprehensive security considerations and have security or privacy vulnerabilities, which makes them vulnerable to specific attacks. The paper reviews a recent scheme ISG-SLAS (Yu and Park, 2022) and analyzes its potential insecure aspects in detail, including unable to resist ESL attack, cannot provide un-traceability and etc. To this end, the paper designs an improved authentication scheme for smart grid based on symmetric cryptography. Through informal security analyses and formal security analyses with real-or-random (ROR) model and Scyther platform, the security of the proposed scheme is demonstrated. From the perspective of performance, the proposed scheme is compared with ten advanced authentication schemes for smart grid, and the results show that the proposed scheme excels other recent schemes in computational overhead, communication overhead and storage overhead, reduced by 10.1%, 30.8% and 36.1% of ISG-SLAS and 58.9%, 64.1% and 24.3% of the average value of all alternatives respectively.

Detection of False Data Injection Attacks on Smart Grids Based on A-BiTG Approach

A false data injection attack (FDIA) is the main attack method that threatens the security of smart grids. FDIAs mislead the control center to make wrong judgments by modifying the measurement data of the power grid system. Therefore, the effective and accurate detection of FDIAs is crucial for the safe operation of smart grids. However, the current deep learning-based methods do not fully exploit the short-term local characteristics and long-term dependencies of power grid data and have poor correlation with past and future time series information, resulting in a lack of credibility in the detection results. In view of this, an FDIA detection model combining a bidirectional temporal convolutional network and bidirectional gated recurrent unit with an attention mechanism (A-BiTG) was proposed. The proposed model utilizes a bidirectional time convolutional network (BiTCN) and bidirectional gated recurrent unit (BiGRU) to consider past and future temporal information in the grid. This enhances the ability of the model to capture long-term dependencies and extract features, while also solving the model’s problem of exploding and vanishing gradients. In addition, an attention mechanism (AM) was added to dynamically assign weights to the extracted feature information and retain the most valuable features to improve the detection accuracy of the model. Finally, the proposed method was compared with existing methods on the IEEE 14-bus and IEEE 118-bus test systems. The results show that the proposed detection model is more robust and superior under different noise environments and FDIA signals with different intensities.

Security risk models against attacks in smart grid using big data and artificial intelligence.

The need to update the electrical infrastructure led directly to the idea of smart grids (SG). Modern security technologies are almost perfect for detecting and preventing numerous attacks on the smart grid. They are unable to meet the challenging cyber security standards, nevertheless. We need many methods and techniques to effectively defend against cyber threats. Therefore, a more flexible approach is required to assess data sets and identify hidden risks. This is possible for vast amounts of data due to recent developments in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning. Due to adaptable base behavior models, machine learning can recognize new and unexpected attacks. Security will be significantly improved by combining new and previously released data sets with machine learning and predictive analytics. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and big data are used to learn more about the current situation and potential solutions for cybersecurity issues with smart grids. This article focuses on different types of attacks on the smart grid. Furthermore, it also focuses on the different challenges of AI in the smart grid. It also focuses on using big data in smart grids and other applications like healthcare. Finally, a solution to smart grid security issues using artificial intelligence and big data methods is discussed. In the end, some possible future directions are also discussed in this article. Researchers and graduate students are the audience of our article.

Smart grid security based on blockchain and smart contract

Smart grid security based on blockchain and smart contract

Smart Grids Secured by Dynamic Watermarking: How Secure?

Unconditional security for smart grids is defined. Cryptanalyses of the watermarked security of smart grids indicate that watermarking cannot guarantee unconditional security unless the communication within the grid system is unconditionally secure. The successful attack against the dynamically watermarked smart grid remains valid even with the presence of internal noise from the grid. An open question arises if unconditionally authenticated secure communications within the grid, together with tamper resistance of the critical elements, are satisfactory conditions to provide unconditional security for the grid operation.

Research on Blockchain-Enabled Smart Grid for Anti-Theft Electricity Securing Peer-to-Peer Transactions in Modern Grids.

Electricity theft presents a significant financial burden to utility companies globally, amounting to trillions of dollars annually. This pressing issue underscores the need for transformative measures within the electrical grid. Accordingly, our study explores the integration of block chain technology into smart grids to combat electricity theft, improve grid efficiency, and facilitate renewable energy integration. Block chain's core principles of decentralization, transparency, and immutability align seamlessly with the objectives of modernizing power systems and securing transactions within the electricity grid. However, as smart grids advance, they also become more vulnerable to attacks, particularly from smart meters, compared to traditional mechanical meters. Our research aims to introduce an advanced approach to identifying energy theft while prioritizing user privacy, a critical aspect often neglected in existing methodologies that mandate the disclosure of sensitive user data. To achieve this goal, we introduce three distributed algorithms: lower-upper decomposition (LUD), lower-upper decomposition with partial pivoting (LUDP), and optimized LUD composition (OLUD), tailored specifically for peer-to-peer (P2P) computing in smart grids. These algorithms are meticulously crafted to solve linear systems of equations and calculate users' "honesty coefficients," providing a robust mechanism for detecting fraudulent activities. Through extensive simulations, we showcase the efficiency and accuracy of our algorithms in identifying deceitful users while safeguarding data confidentiality. This innovative approach not only bolsters the security of smart grids against energy theft, but also addresses privacy and security concerns inherent in conventional energy-theft detection methods.

RNN-BiLSTM-CRF based amalgamated deep learning model for electricity theft detection to secure smart grids.

Electricity theft presents a substantial threat to distributed power networks, leading to non-technical losses (NTLs) that can significantly disrupt grid functionality. As power grids supply centralized electricity to connected consumers, any unauthorized consumption can harm the grids and jeopardize overall power supply quality. Detecting such fraudulent behavior becomes challenging when dealing with extensive data volumes. Smart grids provide a solution by enabling two-way electricity flow, thereby facilitating the detection, analysis, and implementation of new measures to address data flow issues. The key objective is to provide a deep learning-based amalgamated model to detect electricity theft and secure the smart grid. This research introduces an innovative approach to overcome the limitations of current electricity theft detection systems, which predominantly rely on analyzing one-dimensional (1-D) electric data. These approaches often exhibit insufficient accuracy when identifying instances of theft. To address this challenge, the article proposes an ensemble model known as the RNN-BiLSTM-CRF model. This model amalgamates the strengths of recurrent neural network (RNN) and bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) architectures. Notably, the proposed model harnesses both one-dimensional (1-D) and two-dimensional (2-D) electricity consumption data, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of the theft detection process. The experimental results showcase an impressive accuracy rate of 93.05% in detecting electricity theft, surpassing the performance of existing models in this domain.

Enhancing cybersecurity in smart grids: Deep black box adversarial attacks and quantum voting ensemble models for blockchain privacy-preserving storage

Smart grids are getting important in today’s power management, so with that, smart grid technologies are increasingly important too. There have been a lot of concerns about smart grid technologies being hacked, and as a result, some deep black box adversarial attacks have been conducted and presented. We propose a new experimental methodology for benchmarking smart grid security with black box attacks. Additionally, concerning the type of smart grids, Smart Power Grids, deep black box adversarial attacks which can be crafted using virtually no knowledge about the target due to the inherent complexity of content available in cryptographic libraries like SecLib or Bouncy Castle how it affects security of cyber-physical power systems. We identify potential impacts of deep black box attacks on Smart Power Grids as implemented by the Department of Energy in 1996, we evaluate existing protection methods, and we find out the pitfalls thereof. With the aim of overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks, we initiate a study on deep black box adversarial attacks against Smart Power Grids showing that statistically significant effects against a national Smart Power Grid are achievable with absolute security. We also probe detection of cyber security attacks on Smart Power Grids. We illustrate landscape of smart grids with numerous cyber threats and demonstrate the limitations of traditional security practices. We show the importance of machine learning to detect attacks and the unlikelihood of identification of dependable and efficient detection schemes. We describe quantum voting ensemble models as one of the most powerful techniques in the detection of cyber security attacks. Finally, we propose an experimental setup and evaluation criteria to detect cyber security attacks in smart grids using quantum voting ensemble models. Then, we talk about private data storage in blockchain based smart grid infrastructure. We give an introduction of block chain and its essentiality in smart grids. We discuss privacy issues in block chain based smart grids. We acknowledge the strength of privacy safeguards, but on the same wavelength, we realize their weaknesses. Next, we propose a quantum resistant encryption technique that enhances the privacy of smart grids. We propose quantum voting ensemble models as one of the most promising techniques to address the issue of private data storage in block chains. As a result, we provide a comparison between the proposed models and traditional approaches to privacy protection in smart grids based on an experimental performance review. Then, we propose a unified strategy to improve smart grid cyber security by incorporating deep black box attacks with quantum voting ensemble models. Finally, we disclose several benefits of such integration and perform an experimental evaluation to investigate the effectiveness of the unified approach. The results of our study identify security gaps in smart grids and propose state-of-the-art mechanisms to address them. The challenges of smart grids system require the amalgamation of blockchain, quantum voting ensemble models and deep black box adversarial attacks. We achieve this objective proposing a unified strategy. The results of this study will equally be helpful for future research and smart grid cyber security implementations.

Smart Grid Security: An Effective Hybrid CNN-Based Approach for Detecting Energy Theft Using Consumption Patterns.

In Internet of Things-based smart grids, smart meters record and report a massive number of power consumption data at certain intervals to the data center of the utility for load monitoring and energy management. Energy theft is a big problem for smart meters and causes non-technical losses. Energy theft attacks can be launched by malicious consumers by compromising the smart meters to report manipulated consumption data for less billing. It is a global issue causing technical and financial damage to governments and operators. Deep learning-based techniques can effectively identify consumers involved in energy theft through power consumption data. In this study, a hybrid convolutional neural network (CNN)-based energy-theft-detection system is proposed to detect data-tampering cyber-attack vectors. CNN is a commonly employed method that automates the extraction of features and the classification process. We employed CNN for feature extraction and traditional machine learning algorithms for classification. In this work, honest data were obtained from a real dataset. Six attack vectors causing data tampering were utilized. Tampered data were synthetically generated through these attack vectors. Six separate datasets were created for each attack vector to design a specialized detector tailored for that specific attack. Additionally, a dataset containing all attack vectors was also generated for the purpose of designing a general detector. Furthermore, the imbalanced dataset problem was addressed through the application of the generative adversarial network (GAN) method. GAN was chosen due to its ability to generate new data closely resembling real data, and its application in this field has not been extensively explored. The data generated with GAN ensured better training for the hybrid CNN-based detector on honest and malicious consumption patterns. Finally, the results indicate that the proposed general detector could classify both honest and malicious users with satisfactory accuracy.

CYBER RESILIENCE USING SMART GRID

With the integration of sophisticated automation, control, and communication capabilities into conventional power systems, the smart grid has developed into a game-changing technological advancement. But greater connectivity also poses serious problems for data security. This article discusses the hazards and vulnerabilities posed by cyberattacks and offers a thorough examination of data security in smart grids. In order to guarantee the availability, integrity, and confidentiality of data within the smart grid architecture, it looks at a number of data security solutions, including intrusion detection, authentication, and encryption. Future developments and cutting-edge technologies that can strengthen data security resilience within the smart grid ecosystem are also covered. Index Terms – Security, Encryption, Smart Grid, Digital signature, Blockchain technology, Quantum cryptography

Low complexity smart grid security protocol based on elliptic curve cryptography, biometrics and hamming distance.

The incorporation of information and communication technologies in the power grids has greatly enhanced efficiency in the management of demand-responses. In addition, smart grids have seen considerable minimization in energy consumption and enhancement in power supply quality. However, the transmission of control and consumption information over open public communication channels renders the transmitted messages vulnerable to numerous security and privacy violations. Although many authentication and key agreement protocols have been developed to counter these issues, the achievement of ideal security and privacy levels at optimal performance still remains an uphill task. In this paper, we leverage on Hamming distance, elliptic curve cryptography, smart cards and biometrics to develop an authentication protocol. It is formally analyzed using the Burrows-Abadi-Needham (BAN) logic, which shows strong mutual authentication and session key negotiation. Its semantic security analysis demonstrates its robustness under all the assumptions of the Dolev-Yao (DY) and Canetti- Krawczyk (CK) threat models. From the performance perspective, it is shown to incur communication, storage and computation complexities compared with other related state of the art protocols.