Securing an Event-Based Smart Meter System to Prevent Pricing Cyberattack: A Preliminary Research

Abstract

Being a part of the smart grid, a smart meter is a device that is widely used nowadays because it is expected to improve the efficiency of the current electricity network by using advanced digital information and communication technology. One of the advantages of using the smart meter is it can simplify the billing process. However, because the smart meter system must be connected to intranet and extranet networks, it becomes vulnerable to several security and privacy threats. One of the major concerns is pricing cyber-attack, which happens when energy consumption data becomes the target of an attack because this can affect the amount of billing that must be paid by costumers. There are already several studies that discussed securing the smart grid system using various methods but those are still computationally complex and only implemented on time-based type smart meters. The aim of this paper is to present preliminary research on securing an event-based smart meter system from a pricing cyber-attack.