Abstract
Communication network dependencies for microgrid’s operations increases cybersecurity risks, where vulnerabilities found in communication protocols can be exploited for malicious intent. In this paper, we enumerate important attack techniques on multiple communication protocols and investigate their impacts on the microgrid dispatch function. We also show that an attacker can leverage multiple protocols to launch coordinated attacks that offers longer-term, stealthier, and larger adversarial impact, an advanced persistent threat. Our main contribution in this work is a detailed case study carried out on Electrical Power and Intelligent Control (EPIC) testbed located in Singapore. Through a series of experiments, we demonstrated individual protocols’ vulnerability, verified their negative impacts on several microgrid’s dispatch functions, and also illustrated the practicality of coordinated attacks through the manipulation of multiple protocols.
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Acknowledgment
This research is supported in part by the National Research Foundation, Singapore, under its National Satellite of Excellence Programme “Design Science and Technology for Secure Critical Infrastructure” (Award Number: NSoE_DeST-SCI2019-0008 and NSoE_DeST-SCI2021TG-0003), and in part by the National Research Foundation, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore under its Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programme, and in part by the SUTD Start-up Research Grant (SRG Award No: SRG ISTD 2020 157). Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of National Research Foundation, Singapore.
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Saifuddin, M.R., Wei, L., Tan, H.C., Chen, B. (2023). Coordinated Network Attacks on Microgrid Dispatch Function: An EPIC Case Study. In: Katsikas, S., et al. Computer Security. ESORICS 2022 International Workshops. ESORICS 2022. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13785. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25460-4_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25460-4_2
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