632 research outputs found
Security Analysis of Interdependent Critical Infrastructures: Power, Cyber and Gas
abstract: Our daily life is becoming more and more reliant on services provided by the infrastructures
power, gas , communication networks. Ensuring the security of these
infrastructures is of utmost importance. This task becomes ever more challenging as
the inter-dependence among these infrastructures grows and a security breach in one
infrastructure can spill over to the others. The implication is that the security practices/
analysis recommended for these infrastructures should be done in coordination.
This thesis, focusing on the power grid, explores strategies to secure the system that
look into the coupling of the power grid to the cyber infrastructure, used to manage
and control it, and to the gas grid, that supplies an increasing amount of reserves to
overcome contingencies.
The first part (Part I) of the thesis, including chapters 2 through 4, focuses on
the coupling of the power and the cyber infrastructure that is used for its control and
operations. The goal is to detect malicious attacks gaining information about the
operation of the power grid to later attack the system. In chapter 2, we propose a
hierarchical architecture that correlates the analysis of high resolution Micro-Phasor
Measurement Unit (microPMU) data and traffic analysis on the Supervisory Control
and Data Acquisition (SCADA) packets, to infer the security status of the grid and
detect the presence of possible intruders. An essential part of this architecture is
tied to the analysis on the microPMU data. In chapter 3 we establish a set of anomaly
detection rules on microPMU data that
flag "abnormal behavior". A placement strategy
of microPMU sensors is also proposed to maximize the sensitivity in detecting anomalies.
In chapter 4, we focus on developing rules that can localize the source of an events
using microPMU to further check whether a cyber attack is causing the anomaly, by
correlating SCADA traffic with the microPMU data analysis results. The thread that
unies the data analysis in this chapter is the fact that decision are made without fully estimating the state of the system; on the contrary, decisions are made using
a set of physical measurements that falls short by orders of magnitude to meet the
needs for observability. More specifically, in the first part of this chapter (sections 4.1-
4.2), using microPMU data in the substation, methodologies for online identification of
the source Thevenin parameters are presented. This methodology is used to identify
reconnaissance activity on the normally-open switches in the substation, initiated
by attackers to gauge its controllability over the cyber network. The applications
of this methodology in monitoring the voltage stability of the grid is also discussed.
In the second part of this chapter (sections 4.3-4.5), we investigate the localization
of faults. Since the number of PMU sensors available to carry out the inference
is insufficient to ensure observability, the problem can be viewed as that of under-sampling
a "graph signal"; the analysis leads to a PMU placement strategy that can
achieve the highest resolution in localizing the fault, for a given number of sensors.
In both cases, the results of the analysis are leveraged in the detection of cyber-physical
attacks, where microPMU data and relevant SCADA network traffic information
are compared to determine if a network breach has affected the integrity of the system
information and/or operations.
In second part of this thesis (Part II), the security analysis considers the adequacy
and reliability of schedules for the gas and power network. The motivation for
scheduling jointly supply in gas and power networks is motivated by the increasing
reliance of power grids on natural gas generators (and, indirectly, on gas pipelines)
as providing critical reserves. Chapter 5 focuses on unveiling the challenges and
providing solution to this problem.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Electrical Engineering 201
Micro Smart Micro-grid and Its Cyber Security Aspects in a Port Infrastructure
Maritime ports are intensive energy areas with a plenty of electrical systems that require an average power of
many tens of megawatts (MW). Competitiveness, profits, reduction of pollution, reliability of operations, carbon emission
trading are important energy related considerations for any port authority. Current technology allows the deployment of a local
micro-grid of the size of tenths of MW, capable of islanded operation in case of emergency and to grant an increasing energy
independency. Ownership of the grid permits a large flexibility on prices of energy sold inside the port, trading on local electric
market and reduction of pollution. Renewable energy generation has a large impact on costs since features a low marginal cost.
Unfortunately the smart grid is a critical asset within the port infrastructure and its intelligence is a high-level target for cyberattacks.
Such attacks are often based on malicious software (malware), which makes use of a controlling entity on the network
to coordinate and propagate. In this document, we will outline some features of a port smart grid and typical characteristics of
cyber-attacks including potential ways to recognize it and suggestion for effective countermeasures
A survey on power grid faults and their origins: A contribution to improving power grid resilience
UID/EEA/00066/2019One of the most critical infrastructures in the world is electrical power grids (EPGs). New threats affecting EPGs, and their different consequences, are analyzed in this survey along with different approaches that can be taken to prevent or minimize those consequences, thus improving EPG resilience. The necessity for electrical power systems to become resilient to such events is becoming compelling; indeed, it is important to understand the origins and consequences of faults. This survey provides an analysis of different types of faults and their respective causes, showing which ones are more reported in the literature. As a result of the analysis performed, it was possible to identify four clusters concerning mitigation approaches, as well as to correlate them with the four different states of the electrical power system resilience curve.publishe
Securing critical utility systems & network infrastructures
Tese de mestrado, Segurança Informática, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2009As infra-estruturas críticas de TI para serviços públicos são apoiadas por inúmeros sistemas complexos. Estes sistemas permitem a gestão e recolha de informação em tempo-real, constituindo a base para a gestão eficiente das operações. A utilização, cada vez mais frequente, de software e hardware (Commercial Off-The-Shelf, COTS) em sistemas SCADA permitiu grandes beneficios financeiros na aquisição e desenvolvimento de soluções técnicas que suportam os serviços públicos. O uso de hardware e software COTS em sistemas SCADA transferiu para as infra-estruturas críticas os problemas de segurança de uma infraestrutura de TI empresarial. Neste contexto, um desafio para as equipas de gestão operacional dos sistemas de TI é a gestão eficaz dos sistemas e redes que compõem as infra-estruturas críticas dos serviços públicos. Apesar de estas organizações adoptarem, cada vez mais, normas e melhores práticas que visam melhorar a gestão, operações e processos de configuração. Este projecto de investigação propõe-se a desenvolver um estudo comparativo de plataformas de gestão integrada no contexto dos sistemas SCADA que suportam serviços públicos. Adicionalmente, este projecto de investigação irá desenvolver estudos acerca de perfis operacionais dos Sistemas Operativos que suportam a infra-estrutura IT dos serviços públicos críticos. Este projecto de investigação irá descrever como as decisões estratégicas de gestão têm impacto nas operações de gestão de uma infra-estrutura TI.Modern critical utility IT infrastructures are supported by numerous complex systems. These systems allow real-time management and information collection, which is the basis of efficient service management operations. The usage of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and software in SCADA systems allowed for major financial advantages in purchasing and developing technical solutions. On the other hand, this COTS hardware and software generalized usage in SCADA systems, exposed critical infrastructures to the security problems of a corporate IT infrastructure. A significant challenge for IT teams is managing critical utility IT infrastructures even upon adopting security best practices that help management, operations and configuration of the systems and network components that comprise those infrastructures. This research project proposes to survey integrated management software that can address the specific security constraints of a SCADA infrastructure supported by COTS software. Additionally, this research project proposes to investigate techniques that will allow the creation of operational profiles of Operating Systems supporting critical utility IT infrastructures. This research project will describe how the strategic management decisions impact tactical operations management of an IT environment. We will investigate desirable technical management elements in support of the operational management
Semantic Support for Log Analysis of Safety-Critical Embedded Systems
Testing is a relevant activity for the development life-cycle of Safety
Critical Embedded systems. In particular, much effort is spent for analysis and
classification of test logs from SCADA subsystems, especially when failures
occur. The human expertise is needful to understand the reasons of failures,
for tracing back the errors, as well as to understand which requirements are
affected by errors and which ones will be affected by eventual changes in the
system design. Semantic techniques and full text search are used to support
human experts for the analysis and classification of test logs, in order to
speedup and improve the diagnosis phase. Moreover, retrieval of tests and
requirements, which can be related to the current failure, is supported in
order to allow the discovery of available alternatives and solutions for a
better and faster investigation of the problem.Comment: EDCC-2014, BIG4CIP-2014, Embedded systems, testing, semantic
discovery, ontology, big dat
Maintenance Knowledge Management with Fusion of CMMS and CM
Abstract- Maintenance can be considered as an information, knowledge processing and management system. The management of knowledge resources in maintenance is a relatively new issue compared to Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) and Condition Monitoring (CM) approaches and systems. Information Communication technologies (ICT) systems including CMMS, CM and enterprise administrative systems amongst others are effective in supplying data and in some cases information. In order to be effective the availability of high-quality knowledge, skills and expertise are needed for effective analysis and decision-making based on the supplied information and data. Information and data are not by themselves enough, knowledge, experience and skills are the key factors when maximizing the usability of the collected data and information. Thus, effective knowledge management (KM) is growing in importance, especially in advanced processes and management of advanced and expensive assets. Therefore efforts to successfully integrate maintenance knowledge management processes with accurate information from CMMSs and CM systems will be vital due to the increasing complexities of the overall systems.
Low maintenance effectiveness costs money and resources since normal and stable production cannot be upheld and maintained over time, lowered maintenance effectiveness can have a substantial impact on the organizations ability to obtain stable flows of income and control costs in the overall process. Ineffective maintenance is often dependent on faulty decisions, mistakes due to lack of experience and lack of functional systems for effective information exchange [10]. Thus, access to knowledge, experience and skills resources in combination with functional collaboration structures can be regarded as vital components for a high maintenance effectiveness solution.
Maintenance effectiveness depends in part on the quality, timeliness, accuracy and completeness of information related to machine degradation state, based on which decisions are made. Maintenance effectiveness, to a large extent, also depends on the quality of the knowledge of the managers and maintenance operators and the effectiveness of the internal & external collaborative environments. With emergence of intelligent sensors to measure and monitor the health state of the component and gradual implementation of ICT) in organizations, the conceptualization and implementation of E-Maintenance is turning into a reality. Unfortunately, even though knowledge management aspects are important in maintenance, the integration of KM aspects has still to find its place in E-Maintenance and in the overall information flows of larger-scale maintenance solutions. Nowadays, two main systems are implemented in most maintenance departments: Firstly, Computer Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS), the core of traditional maintenance record-keeping practices that often facilitate the usage of textual descriptions of faults and actions performed on an asset. Secondly, condition monitoring systems (CMS). Recently developed (CMS) are capable of directly monitoring asset components parameters; however, attempts to link observed CMMS events to CM sensor measurements have been limited in their approach and scalability. In this article we present one approach for addressing this challenge. We argue that understanding the requirements and constraints in conjunction - from maintenance, knowledge management and ICT perspectives - is necessary. We identify the issues that need be addressed for achieving successful integration of such disparate data types and processes (also integrating knowledge management into the “data types” and processes)
On the role of Prognostics and Health Management in advanced maintenance systems
The advanced use of the Information and Communication Technologies is evolving the way that systems are managed and maintained. A great number of techniques and methods have emerged in the light of these advances allowing to have an accurate and knowledge about the systems’ condition evolution and remaining useful life. The advances are recognized as outcomes of an innovative discipline, nowadays discussed under the term of Prognostics and Health Management (PHM). In order to analyze how maintenance will change by using PHM, a conceptual model is proposed built upon three views. The model highlights: (i) how PHM may impact the definition of maintenance policies; (ii) how PHM fits within the Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) and (iii) how PHM can be integrated into Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) programs. The conceptual model is the research finding of this review note and helps to discuss the role of PHM in advanced maintenance systems.EU Framework Programme Horizon 2020, 645733 - Sustain-Owner - H2020-MSCA-RISE-201
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