Simulation Modelling of Smart Grid Security and Dependability

A special issue of Electronics (ISSN 2079-9292). This special issue belongs to the section "Power Electronics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 November 2022) | Viewed by 8345

Special Issue Editors


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Department of Information Security and Communication Technology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Teknologiveien 22, 2815 Gjøvik, Norway
Interests: software-defined networking; communication networks; security; IoT; smart grid; smart cities
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Information Security and Communication Technology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2815 Gjøvik, Norway
Interests: AI and machine learning; image processing and analysis; information security
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway
Interests: computer networking; cloud computing; network security
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Electricity demands are growing, and they are expected to grow by an additional 40% by 2040 as the world moves towards electric mobility, cities are becoming smart, and industry is becoming more dependent on the use of IoT technology. At the same time, recent attacks on the grid and unexpected weather events have shown how important electricity as part of critical infrastructure.

Smart grid security and dependability is becoming one of the most important research areas of this decade. Despite significant progress being made in this field, new threats and vulnerabilities are continuously emerging as the smart grid is evolving by adapting and integrating new elements. What started as the digitalization of electricity distribution (from primary to secondary substations) continues in the digitalization of all parts of the grid, including customers’ premises, resulting in a dynamic demand response system. Unfortunately, this transformation introduces new attack vectors and threatens the grid dependability.

The main aim of this Special Issue is to attract high-quality contributions addressing recent advancements in the field of smart grid simulation modelling of security and all dependability areas: availability, reliability, safety, confidentiality, integrity, and maintainability.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to the following:

(1) Simulation modelling of smart grid security and dependability areas: availability, reliability, safety, confidentiality, integrity, and maintainability;

(2) Smart grid modelling using simulation and emulation techniques;

(3) Modelling of innovative approaches for smart grid control (e.g., software-defined networking);

(4) Modelling of smart grid networks threats, attacks, and vulnerabilities;

(5) Testing of modeled threats and vulnerabilities;

(6) Modelling of various elements of smart grid topology: control center, primary and secondary digital substations, and WANs with optional VPNs.

Dr. Filip Holik
Prof. Dr. Sule Yildirim Yayilgan
Prof. Dr. Martin Gilje Jaatun
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • smart grid
  • smart grid modelling
  • smart grid cyber security
  • smart grid dependability
  • smart grid threats
  • attacks on smart grid networks

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 2366 KiB  
Article
An Approach for Analyzing Cyber Security Threats and Attacks: A Case Study of Digital Substations in Norway
by Sule Yildirim Yayilgan, Filip Holik, Mohamed Abomhara, Doney Abraham and Alemayehu Gebremedhin
Electronics 2022, 11(23), 4006; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics11234006 - 2 Dec 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2884
Abstract
In this paper, we provide an approach for analyzing cyber security threats and attacks in digital substations, which is based on several steps we performed within our work on two Research Council of Norway (RCN) projects. In the literature, there are various separate [...] Read more.
In this paper, we provide an approach for analyzing cyber security threats and attacks in digital substations, which is based on several steps we performed within our work on two Research Council of Norway (RCN) projects. In the literature, there are various separate or theoretical concepts to understand and follow a security analysis of smart grids in general, but none is focused specifically on digital substations. Moreover, none is showing real applicability on an existing use case, making the implementation difficult. The approach we propose here is a result of our attempts to create a comprehensive overview of the individual steps we have been taking to do the analysis. For that reason, firstly, we start with defining and explaining a digital substation and its concepts, and the security challenges related to digital substations. Afterwards, we present the main steps of the security analysis for digital substation. The first step is the security pyramid. The following steps are threat analysis, threat modeling, risk assessment and the simulation impact analysis, which are another contribution from our group presented in this paper. Considering that the main goal of a security analysis is to create awareness for the stakeholders of digital substations, such an impact simulation provides a flexible way for stakeholders to see and to understand the consequences of security threats and attacks. We summarize the paper with an illustration of the steps we are taking in the form of the approach for digital substation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Simulation Modelling of Smart Grid Security and Dependability)
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21 pages, 5091 KiB  
Article
Threat Modeling of a Smart Grid Secondary Substation
by Filip Holik, Lars Halvdan Flå, Martin Gilje Jaatun, Sule Yildirim Yayilgan and Jørn Foros
Electronics 2022, 11(6), 850; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics11060850 - 8 Mar 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4609
Abstract
A full smart grid implementation requires the digitization of all parts of the smart grid infrastructure, including secondary electrical substations. Unfortunately, this introduces new security threats, which were not apparent before. This article uses a Smart Grid Threat Modeling Template implementing the STRIDE [...] Read more.
A full smart grid implementation requires the digitization of all parts of the smart grid infrastructure, including secondary electrical substations. Unfortunately, this introduces new security threats, which were not apparent before. This article uses a Smart Grid Threat Modeling Template implementing the STRIDE model to create a threat model of a digital secondary substation and its communication with the control center. Threats are classified by priority and need for further investigation. The tool was compared with a CORAS analysis, and was determined to be more time efficient. Denial of service (DoS) threats were classified as the most critical, and they were further evaluated in a precise simulation model created for this purpose. This model combines simulation with emulated communication, and enables verification of threat likelihoods and impacts. The results show that even publicly available tools can be easily used to disrupt grid communication and potentially cause loss of the entire grid’s observability and controllability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Simulation Modelling of Smart Grid Security and Dependability)
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