Coordinated attacks on electric power systems in a cyber-physical environment

Xiang, Yingmeng; Wang, Lingfeng; Liu, Nian

doi:10.1016/j.epsr.2017.04.023

Cited by 144 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…For example, attacks can guarantee the access to national infrastructures, with the consequence of interrupting essential services, such as transport, energy and financial systems. Coordinated cyber-physical attacks on critical infrastructures can be devastating and produce severe damages (Xiang et al 2017). The well-known cyberattack to Ukrainian power system in 2015 12 has shown that multiple approaches can be extremely effective, impacting remote assets both electronically and physically (Lee et al 2016).…”

Section: Physical Elements Are Neglectedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Redefining the Approach to Cybersecurity

Corradini¹

2020

Studies in Systems, Decision and Control

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One of the most critical issues in cybersecurity is represented by social engineering attacks. These threats have been known for years, but it is very difficult to handle them effectively, because they are strictly related to human nature. Social engineering is not just a phishing email; indeed, it is possible to distinguish several forms of attack which combine different elements, from human to social to physical and technological. According to a psychological point of view, social engineering is a powerful means of gaining information exploiting individuals' weaknesses. Moreover, due to the mechanisms of persuasion, widely studied in literature, it is easy to imagine how complicated the management of this threat is. Appropriate training of employees, especially of key roles of the company, can be an effective antidote to social engineering. Given the current scenario and the future perspective in cybersecurity, it is clear that the approach used to manage cybersecurity requires a radical change. Currently, the preferred cybersecurity strategy is still based on technological solutions, without brilliant results, since cyberthreats keep growing. Many are convinced that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be an opportunity for managing cybersecurity; whether true or not, it is however evident that AI has also the power to generate new threats and to strengthen the existing ones. Therefore, we should be very prudent when technologies are presented as a miracle solution for cybersecurity problems. The starting point is that technology has to be deployed under full human control. Then, critical thinking is needed to develop alternatives to improve the current approach to cybersecurity. In short, we need to develop a multidisciplinary vision of cybersecurity, involving other disciplines and assuming different perspectives.

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Section: Physical Elements Are Neglectedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Redefining the Approach to Cybersecurity

Corradini¹

2020

Studies in Systems, Decision and Control

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“…In the modest model, Wu et al [10], proposed a tri-level model and applied an instance of Bender's decomposition technique using primal cuts to achieve a more effective result. Xiang et al [11] proposed the tri-level DAD model and the solution obtained by the robust optimization approach. The attacker's damage is quantified by the load curtailment in [12], where the risk optimization method utilized to minimize the disruption's consequence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The attacker's damage is quantified by the load curtailment in [12], where the risk optimization method utilized to minimize the disruption's consequence. Mitigating the impact of cyber-physical attack discussed in [13], and the authors examine the consequence of interrupting the transmission lines or generators in addition to load redistribution attacks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A novel approach in strategic planning of power networks against physical attacks

Davarikia

Barati

Alassad

et al. 2020

Electric Power Systems Research

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The reported work points at developing a practical approach for power transmission planners to secure power networks from potential deliberate attacks. We study the interaction between a system planner (defender) and a rational attacker who threatens the operation of power grid. In addition to the commonly used hardening strategy for protecting the network, a new sort of resources is introduced under the deception concept. Feint and deception are acknowledged as effective tools for misleading the attacker in strategic planning. To this end, the defender deception is mathematically formulated by releasing misinformation about his plan in the shared cognition-based model. To reduce the risk of damage in case of deception failure, preemptive-goal programming is utilized to prioritize the hardening strategy for the vital components. Furthermore, the "value of posturing" is introduced which is the benefits that the deception brings to the system. The problems are formulated as tri-level mixedinteger linear programming and solved by constraint-and-column generation method. Comprehensive simulation studies performed on WSCC 9-bus and IEEE 118-bus systems indicate how the defender will save significant cost from protecting his network with posturing rather than hardening and the proposed approach is a promising development to ensure the secure operation of power networks.

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“…In these surveys, limited financial resources to repair a broken system or pay the electricity bill was implicated as a major factor. In addition to these socio-economic barriers to using AC, there is the risk of large-scale summertime power outages (Nahlik et al 2016, Moslehi and Reddy 2018, Sailor et al 2019 that are projected to increase due to climate change (Panteli and Mancarella 2015, Bartos et al 2016, van Vliet et al 2016, Burillo et al 2017 as well as the increasing vulnerability of energy grids to hacking and cyber-attacks (Xiang et al 2017). The other important factor that makes US an interesting case for this type of study is the population ageing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Passive survivability of buildings under changing urban climates across eight US cities

Baniassadi

Sailor

Krayenhoff

et al. 2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

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In the US, more than 80% of fatal cases of heat exposure are reported in urban areas. Notably, indoor exposure is implicated in nearly half of such cases, and lack of functioning air conditioning (AC) is the predominant cause of overheating. For residents with limited capacity to purchase, maintain, and operate an AC system, or during summertime power outages, the ability of buildings to maintain safe thermal conditions without mechanical cooling is the primary protective factor against heat. In this paper, we use whole-building energy simulations to compare indoor air temperature inside archetypical single-family residential buildings without AC at the start and middle of the century in eight US cities. We ran the models using hourly output from 10 year regional climate simulations that explicitly include heating from mid-century projections of urban development and climate change under a 'business-as-usual' emissions scenario. Moreover, to identify the impacts from evolving construction practices, we compare different versions of building energy standards. Our analysis shows that summertime overheat time may increase by up to 25% by the middle of century. Moreover, we find that, while newer building energy codes reduce thermal comfort under moderate outdoor weather, they perform better under extreme heat.

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Coordinated attacks on electric power systems in a cyber-physical environment

Cited by 144 publications

References 23 publications

Redefining the Approach to Cybersecurity

Redefining the Approach to Cybersecurity

A novel approach in strategic planning of power networks against physical attacks

Passive survivability of buildings under changing urban climates across eight US cities

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