Impact of Topology on Service Availability in a Smart Grid Advanced Metering Infrastructure

over the last decade, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have brought radical changes to the means and forms of communication for monitoring and control of a large number of applications including Smart Grid (SG). Traditional energy networks have been modernized to Smart Grids to boost the energy industry in the context of efficient and effective power management, performance, real-time control and information flow using two-way communication between utility provides and end-users. However, integrating two-way communication in smart grid comes at the cost of cyber security vulnerabilities and challenges. In the context of SG, node capture is a severe security threat due to the fact that a compromised node can significantly impact the operations and security of the SG network. In this paper, node compromise attack is explored on Advance Metering Infrastructure (AMI) with smart meters for Neighbor Area Networks (NANs) in star and mesh network topologies. Simulation of node compromise/failure for a SG network, using ZigBee nodes in simulation indicates that a partial mesh topology is more resilient to node capture attacks as compared to star topology. A larger number of nodes are reachable from the control center of the SG in a partial mesh topology compared to that in a star topology

A Survey on Cryptography Key Management Schemes for Smart Grid

A Smart grid is a modern electricity delivery system. It is an integration of energy systems and other necessary elements including traditional upgrades and new grid technologies with renewable generation and increased consumer storage. It uses information and communication technology (ICT) to operate, monitor and control data between the generation source and the end user. Smart grids have duplex power flow and communication to achieve high efficiency, reliability, environmental, economics, security and safety standards. However, along with unique facilities, smart grids face security challenges such as access control, connectivity, fault tolerance, privacy, and other security issues. Cyber-attacks, in the recent past, on critical infrastructure including smart grids have highlighted security as a major requirement for smart grids. Therefore, cryptography and key management are necessary for smart grids to become secure and realizable. Key management schemes are processes of key organizational frameworks, distribution, generation, refresh and key storage policies. Currently, several secure schemes, related to key management for smart grid have been proposed to achieve end-to-end secure communication. This paper presents a comprehensive survey and discussion on the current state of the key management of smart grids