Power Grid Defense: Cybersecurity Issues and Smart Grid Impact

This report delves into the current cybersecurity issues plaguing power grids, addressing vulnerabilities such as DoS attacks, email infections, SCADA DOS worms, and network-level attacks. It examines the impact of the smart grid concept on cybersecurity, emphasizing the need for robust solutions across all domains and life cycle phases. The report highlights the importance of access control, authentication, and authorization in securing networked electrical control and SCADA systems, including third-party remote connections. It references key concepts like authorization, authentication, and accountability in the context of computer systems. Furthermore, the report underscores the critical reliance on the reliability of cyber layers for the secure operation of power systems, emphasizing the need for uncorrupted and prompt information exchange between field devices and control centers. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the threats and challenges faced by power grids and the crucial role of cybersecurity in ensuring their secure and reliable operation.

Running head: POWER GRID DEFENSE
POWER GRID DEFENSE
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What do you think are the current issues facing our power grids to defend
against attacks?
There are several issues which are faced by the power grid. DoS attacks are faced by the
power grids where DoS attacks’ goal is desynchronizing communication among Slaves and
Master. Email infection is another threat which is faced by power grids where attacker asks
operator in installing attached pitch over target Master. SCADA DOS Worm is also an issue
where attacker creates new worm which exploits few known vulnerability of software. Network
DOS is attack on the network where attacker sends meaningless packets’ large quantity to OPC
server’s network cards (Bompard, et al., 2012). Communication protocol of OPC server is
corrupted by DoS attacks. Control Centre Network could be attacked by several operations such
as poisoning of databases, malicious software’s infection in remote process network, access to
process network, network DoS in exchange server switch, infection of diagnostic systems and
malicious SCADA packets’ injection in process network. Several other attacks such as IP
Spoofing, ICMP attacks, routing attacks, DNS attacks and attacks of TCP SYN could be faced
by power grids.
How does the Smart Grid concept impact the cybersecurity?
Solutions of cybersecurity are imperative to smart grid. Addressing impact of smart grid
on cybersecurity needs identification of the dependencies among electricity grids and ICT
infrastructures. Architecture of smart grid consists of several cyber assets. Incident of
cybersecurity to smart grid can be defined as adverse event which could impact confidentiality,
availability and integrity of ICT systems, which supports several processes of power system

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(Mehrdad, et al., 2018). Cybersecurity should be considered within every domain of smart grid
as well as every phase of life cycle of system.

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References
Bompard, E., Cuccia, P., Masera, M., & Fovino, I. N. (2012). Cyber vulnerability in power
systems operation and control. In Critical Infrastructure Protection (pp. 197-234).
Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Mehrdad, S., Mousavian, S., Madraki, G., & Dvorkin, Y. (2018). Cyber-physical resilience of
electrical power systems against malicious attacks: A review. Current
Sustainable/Renewable Energy Reports, 5(1), 14-22.