A Review of Cybersecurity Issues in Smartgrid Communication Networks

Extensive communication has become an indispensable part of smartgrids. With the help of this connectivity, constant monitoring and control can be utilized to operate these systems in a more efficient and productive way. Increased presence of Information Technologies (IT) in power system field had large benefits such as novel applications that enable transmission lines to utilize a larger portion of its capacity, demand side management schemes that coordinate power use with respect to available energy and electric vehicle charge-discharge management solutions. Connecting all these different devices leads to implementation of Internet of Things in smart grids. However, this brings along its own challenges. So far, power systems have been operated with very limited communication and these networks have always been isolated, stand-alone systems with no connection to outside world. With the recent advancements in IT and Smartgrids, this paradigm is changing. For better coordination and control various players such as electric vehicles, smart meters, market operators and house owners are also included in these communication networks. This opens the door for cybersecurity issues that are unknown to the power system domain. A review of these challenges is presented in this paper along with solution efforts and future work.