Cyber-physical attacks and defences in the smart grid: a survey

• Main Authors: Haibo He, Jun Yan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2016-11-01
• Series: IET Cyber-Physical Systems
• Subjects: smart power grids; cyber-physical systems; security of data; power engineering computing; cyber-physical attacks; cyber-physical defences; complex cyber-physical systems; CPS; complex security; critical attack threats; CP attack schemes; smart grid operation; smart grid CP security; CP attack threats; complex CPS-based infrastructures
• Online Access: https://digital-library.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/iet-cps.2016.0019

The smart grid is arguably one of the most complex cyber-physical systems (CPS). Complex security challenges have been revealed in both the physical and the cyber parts of the smart grid, and an integrative analysis on the cyber-physical (CP) security is emerging. This paper provides a comprehensive and systematic review of the critical attack threats and defence strategies in the smart grid. We start this survey with an overview of the smart grid security from the CP perspective, and then focuses on prominent CP attack schemes with significant impact on the smart grid operation and corresponding defense solutions. With an in-depth review of the attacks and defences, we then discuss the opportunities and challenges along the smart grid CP security. We hope this paper raises awareness of the CP attack threats and defence strategies in complex CPS-based infrastructures such as the smart grid and inspires research effort toward the development of secure and resilient CP infrastructures.