2019 ICS Cyber Security Conference | USA

The smart grid is recognized as the most critical infrastructure, where the assumption of reliable and secure availability of electric power underpins the digital revolution that continues to transform our modern lives. The digital transformation of the smart grid is reshaping the interactions between smart grid systems components, between power systems and consumers, and between power systems and other interdependent critical infrastructures. Cybersecurity and resilience of smartgrids are essential enablers for continued innovation, however, existing standards and regulations follow a bottom-up technology-focused approach that may not sufficiently address the risks across the different smart grid operational layers. In this presentation, we expand on the benefits of cyber-physical modeling as a useful tool to capture much of the innovation, cyber-physical threats, risks and uncertainty. We present an operational risk-based model for smart-grids that efficiently captures cyber-physical uncertainties and enables a better resilient operation. This model utilizes a cyber-physical risk metric that can be used as a parameter for operation. We also expand on the need for a data-driven definition of trust between the different smart grid system components.