Efficient generation and distribution of CRLs for IEEE 802.11s-based Smart Grid AMI networks

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm for reducing the size of certificate revocation lists (CRLs) created and distributed for IEEE 802.11s-based Smart Grid Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) networks. Rather than maintaining a huge-size single CRL that introduces unnecessary search time and storage, the idea is to generate groups of smart meters (SMs) within the AMI network and create CRLs based on these groups. Creating groups is appropriate in AMI networks since the SMs are stationary in contrary to traditional mobile wireless networks. Our proposed grouping algorithm is based on the created paths from leaf SMs to the gateway as well as the immediate neighborhood of each SM. Via grouping, the length of the CRL for each SM and the corresponding distribution overhead can be reduced significantly. Simulation results have shown that our approach can maintain a balance between the size of the CRL and the number of signatures generated by certification authorities (CAs) while guaranteeing security of the communications.

Efficient Management of Certificate Revocation Lists in Smart Grid Advanced Metering Infrastructure

“…Comparing with the other methods, the Bloom Filter has the best results as expected because it enables faster checking by efficient hash operations. However, Bloom filter suffers from false-positives which degrades its efficiency by requiring access to the server [12]. Our approach does not have such a problem.…”

“…• Traditional CRL Method: Each smart meter keeps the whole CRL [13] locally which is distributed by the UC. • Bloom Filter Method: A Bloom filter [12] is used to store revoked certificates information. Note that, we employed murmur hash function, which is a non-cryptographic hash function suitable for fast hash-based lookup, to build this Bloom filter.…”

“…In addition, we built an actual testbed at FIU using in-house smart meters to assess the performance realistically. We compared our approach with the other methods that use conventional CRL schemes and Bloom-filters [12]. The results show that the proposed approach significantly outperforms the other existing methods in terms of reducing the communication overhead that is measured with the completion time.…”

Investigating Public-Key Certificate Revocation in Smart Grid

“…In [11]- [13], we have introduced the problem of certificate revocation in AMI networks. Unlike this work that focuses only on AMI networks, this paper broadens our investigations to include certificate revocation in different applications of the smart grid.…”

“…Existing works on smart grid security such as [9], [10] use P KC, but they do not provide any schemes for certificate revocation, even though it is a required component. In [11]- [13], we have made the first attempt to study certificate revocation in Automatic Metering Infrastructure (AM I) networks. In this paper, we broaden our investigation to include certificate revocation in different smart grid applications.…”