A survey on cyber security for smart grid communications

A smart grid is a new form of electricity network with high fidelity power-flow control, self-healing, and energy reliability and energy security using digital communications and control technology. To upgrade an existing power grid into a smart grid, it requires significant dependence on intelligent and secure communication infrastructures. It requires security frameworks for distributed communications, pervasive computing and sensing technologies in smart grid. However, as many of the communication technologies currently recommended to use by a smart grid is vulnerable in cyber security, it could lead to unreliable system operations, causing unnecessary expenditure, even consequential disaster to both utilities and consumers. In this paper, we summarize the cyber security requirements and the possible vulnerabilities in smart grid communications and survey the current solutions on cyber security for smart grid communications. © 2012 IEEE

ZigBee/ZigBee PRO security assessment based on compromised cryptographic keys

Sensor networks have many applications in monitoring and controlling of environmental properties such as sound, acceleration, vibration and temperature. Due to limited resources in computation capability, memory and energy, they are vulnerable to many kinds of attacks. The ZigBee specification based on the 802.15.4 standard, defines a set of layers specifically suited to sensor networks. These layers support secure messaging using symmetric cryptographic. This paper presents two different ways for grabbing the cryptographic key in ZigBee: remote attack and physical attack. It also surveys and categorizes some additional attacks which can be performed on ZigBee networks: eavesdropping, spoofing, replay and DoS attacks at different layers. From this analysis, it is shown that some vulnerabilities still in the existing security schema in ZigBee technology.Les xarxes de sensors tenen moltes aplicacions en el control i la monitorització de les propietats del medi ambient, com ara el so, l¿acceleració, la vibració i la temperatura. A causa dels limitats recursos en la capacitat de càlcul, la memòria i l'energia són vulnerables a molts tipus d'atacs. L'especificació ZigBee basada en l'estàndard 802.15.4, defineix un conjunt de capes, adaptada específicament per a xarxes de sensors. Aquestes capes suporten missatgeria segura mitjançant criptografia simètrica. Aquest article presenta dues formes diferents per agafar la clau de xifrat en ZigBee: atac a distància i atacs físics. També les enquesta i classifica alguns atacs addicionals que es poden realitzar en les xarxes ZigBee: espionatge, falsificació, reproducció i atacs DoS en les diferents capes. A partir d'aquesta anàlisi, es demostren algunes vulnerabilitats existents en l'esquema de seguretat en tecnologia ZigBee.Las redes de sensores tienen muchas aplicaciones en el control y la monitorización de las propiedades del medio ambiente, como el sonido, la aceleración, la vibración y la temperatura. Debido a los limitados recursos en la capacidad de cálculo, la memoria y la energía son vulnerables a muchos tipos de ataques. La especificación ZigBee basada en el estándar 802.15.4, define un conjunto de capas, adaptada específicamente para redes de sensores. Estas capas soportan mensajería segura mediante criptografía simétrica. Este artículo presenta dos formas diferentes para coger la clave de cifrado en ZigBee: ataque a distancia y ataques físicos. También las encuesta y clasifica algunos ataques adicionales que se pueden realizar en las redes ZigBee: espionaje, falsificación, reproducción y ataques DoS en las diferentes capas. A partir de este análisis, se demuestran algunas vulnerabilidades existentes en el esquema de seguridad en tecnología ZigBee

Securing the Internet of Things Infrastructure - Standards and Techniques

The Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure is a conglomerate of electronic devices interconnected through the Internet, with the purpose of providing prompt and effective service to end-users. Applications running on an IoT infrastructure generally handle sensitive information such as a patient’s healthcare record, the position of a logistic vehicle, or the temperature readings obtained through wireless sensor nodes deployed in a bushland. The protection of such information from unlawful disclosure, tampering or modification, as well as the unscathed presence of IoT devices, in adversarial environments, is of prime concern. In this paper, a descriptive analysis of the security of standards and technologies for protecting the IoT communication channel from adversarial threats is provided. In addition, two paradigms for securing the IoT infrastructure, namely, common key based and paired key based, are proposed